--- title: How to Avoid an Alligator Attack description: "You don’t want to be too close to the water’s edge, crouching down, which might make you look like a potential prey item" canonical: https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-15T16:55:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:37:31.651Z article:section: Science og:title: How to Avoid an Alligator Attack og:description: And how to fight back if you're bitten og:url: https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3aa47f767442c45f/698897f7196cf46c6b03c05d/gator1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3803 og:image:height: 2139 og:image:alt: US-ENVIROMENT-ANIMAL-BIRDS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Avoid an Alligator Attack twitter:description: And how to fight back if you're bitten twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3aa47f767442c45f/698897f7196cf46c6b03c05d/gator1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Avoid an Alligator Attack > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 15, 2016 4:55 PM UTC  An alligator swims in the waters at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida on 21 April 2016\. Spring is nesting season in South Florida and over 140 species of birds have been spotted in the wetlands. / AFP / RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images) An alligator swims in the waters at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida on 21 April 2016\. Spring is nesting season in South Florida and over 140 species of birds have been spotted in the wetlands. / AFP / RHONA WISE (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images) RHONA WISE—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 15, 2016 4:55 PM UTC While alligator attacks are a relatively rare occurrence, the disappearance of a [2-year-old boy](http://time.com/4369592/alligator-two-year-old-child-attack-disney/) dragged into the water in Orlando on Tuesday night has raised new concerns about avoiding the massive reptiles. “Overall, the risk is low,” says [David Steen](https://davidasteen.com/), assistant research professor at Auburn University. But it’s important to be aware of the prevalence of [alligators](http://time.com/4369714/walt-disney-world-orlando-alligator/) in regions like Florida, where alligator populations had once decreased due to the leather trade, but have now recovered thanks to conservation efforts. “I would assume any body of water has an alligator in it in Florida,” says Steen—he’d even check swimming pools before getting in. “You don’t want to be too close to the water’s edge, crouching down, which might make you look like a potential prey item,” Steen says. “Don’t walk your dogs next to the water’s edge.” “And probably one of the most important things is don’t feed alligators,” he adds. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC) agrees: “If they’re fed,” said Executive Director Nick Wiley in a press conference on Wednesday, “the alligators can lose their fear of people.” That’s one reason why feeding alligators is illegal in the state of Florida. So should people avoid swimming in lakes, rivers and ponds in Florida altogether? “That’s a personal choice,” Steen says. “You know, there are sharks in the ocean, but I still go swimming in there. So it’s something that everybody should just keep in the back of the mind.” That said, if large alligators have been spotted in an area, “I’m not gonna be swimming in it,” he adds. The FWC also advises against swimming outside of daylight hours, as alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. It’s unclear what went wrong in the current case in Orlando, since “people aren’t the typical prey item for alligators,” Steen says. “It’s such a rare event that you can almost consider it a freak occurrence, and I don’t really want to victim-blame because these things are so unusual and unpredictable.” Still, he thinks it’s important for people “to learn about the natural landscape where they’re visiting, and the local area has a responsibility to help make sure that folks are reasonably informed.” If an alligator does appear in any body of water near you or your child, the best advice is simple: “Get away.” And if the alligator attacks, the FWC’s [advice](http://myfwc.com/media/310176/Alligator-BiteFacts.pdf) is to get aggressive. “If an alligator bites you, the best thing you can do is fight back, making as much noise and commotion as possible. Hitting or kicking the alligator, or poking it in its eyes may cause it to release its grip. When alligators seize prey they cannot easily overpower, they will often let go and retreat.” Alligator bites should be treated immediately, as they can result in severe infection. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/"},"headline":"How to Avoid an Alligator Attack","datePublished":"2016-06-15T16:55:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:37:31.651Z","description":"And how to fight back if you're bitten","url":"https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3aa47f767442c45f/698897f7196cf46c6b03c05d/gator1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3aa47f767442c45f/698897f7196cf46c6b03c05d/gator1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ENVIROMENT-ANIMAL-BIRDS","caption":"US-ENVIROMENT-ANIMAL-BIRDS","creditText":"RHONA WISE—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4369998/how-to-avoid-an-alligator-attack/","name":"How to Avoid an Alligator Attack"}}]}] ```