You’re probably quite well-versed with the alligator’s pushier and more aggressive cousin: the crocodile. Crocodiles are large, bulky apex predators that have no trouble consuming whatever is big enough to fit in its mouth. Yes, that includes humans. In fact, crocodiles are well-known for attacking humans that wander too close to riverbanks with known crocodile activity in them, and as such, are very dangerous to encounter in the wild.
But what about the alligator? Are they the same as their wild lookalikes, or are they misunderstood lizards that just so happen to look like crocodiles?
Physiology
Alligators, like crocodiles, never really stop growing, but their average size is usually much smaller than that of a crocodile. The average adult size of a female American crocodile is around 8.2 feet. For the male, their average size is around 11.2 feet.
It is not uncommon for alligators to reach the average size of a crocodile or even keep growing, but this assumes that the alligator will be able to survive and keep growing at that point. Alligators, like crocodiles, are usually unable to sustain themselves after a certain point and simply die of starvation.
Aggression and behavior
Alligators are actually quite docile, at least in the presence of humans. In fact, an alligator is much more likely to be scared of the human in front of it than the human is of the alligator. Indeed, alligators actually have a natural fear of humans, and their first response upon seeing one is to retreat away into safety. Running into an alligator means that you simply need to back away slowly, and the alligator is unlikely going to give chase.
Smaller alligators, should they actually choose to attack, usually only bite once, but multiple bites on a single target by an alligator isn’t unheard of. In fact, up to 1/3 of alligator attacks consist of multiple bites on the affected person. For larger alligators, however, they are more likely to behave like a crocodile would, and attack multiple times and potentially even deal serious damage to a human.
In other words, if you encounter an alligator out in the wild, you should be fine, especially if it is a smaller alligator, unless you provoke it somehow (e.g. being near its eggs or young, cornering it somehow, or harassing it), in which case the alligator will put itself on the defensive and attack the offender.
Oh, and feeding the alligators is heavily discouraged. Alligators are quite intelligent and will quickly learn to associate humans with food. If this is enough times, then the alligators may eventually lose their fear of humans entirely, potentially making them dangerous to someone who doesn’t know the first thing about alligators.
Preferred food
Alligators don’t target large animals like crocodiles do. Instead, they target prey that are smaller than an adult human. This means fish, birds, small reptiles, and small mammals are on the list. Unfortunately, this also means that children and your pets are likely on the menu as well, but attacks on them are quite rare.
Still, you can rest assured that an alligator is unlikely to attack you because it thinks of you as its next meal. You’re much too big for its liking, and as mentioned above, the alligator is probably terrified of you anyways. It might attack, but not to eat you, but rather to defend itself or its young.
Alligator attacks
Unprovoked alligator attacks are actually quite rare, especially when you compare it to other accidents and risks.
And even then, the amount of people that alligators kill when they attack are even less. Only 6% of all alligator attacks on humans are actually fatal.
Alligators being terrified of a human’s presence and preferring to run off help contribute to making sure that humans aren’t always being attacked by alligators. This can be especially seen when compared to attacks by crocodiles. Nile crocodiles have a 63% fatality rate on its attacks, while saltwater crocodiles have a fatality rate of between 25-50%.
The low rate of attacks and the even lower rate of death shows that alligators aren’t as aggressive as their larger cousins are.
Wrapping up
So how dangerous are alligators, really?
Well, according to their traits and behaviors listed above, not as much as it seems. Their aggression levels are nothing like the crocodiles of the world, and even the alligators that are much more likely to attack pale in comparison to the damage that actual crocodiles do to humans. It also helps that alligators are docile and usually scared of humans, in comparison to a crocodile which usually does not care for or even thinks of the human as prey.
Alligators are still dangerous animals, of course. Their bodies are built like crocodiles, and they are known to attack people on occasion as well. But you can at least rest assured that most alligators aren’t attacking to kill, especially if you’re an adult. What’s more likely is that they are trying to drive you away from them.
But no matter what, if you see a lizard animal that looks like a crocodile or an alligator while out and about, don’t try to think about whether it’s an aggressive crocodile or a more docile alligator, just get out of there ASAP!