Beware Alligators!
We have alligators (and all sorts of other wildlife)
present in our lagoons and lakes. Read this fact sheet
to learn more about them and remember to use
caution near all bodies of water in Palmetto Dunes.
THE American Alligator
Description
CAUTION
even include dogs and other pets!) Small prey is
The average size for an adult female American
Never trust an alligator. They may lie around
swallowed whole. If the prey is large, they shake it
alligator is 8.2 feet and the average size for a male
looking lifeless and legarthic, but they move with
apart into smaller, manageable pieces. If it is very
is 11.2 feet. Exceptionally large males can reach a
lightning burts of speed. Fact: an alligator can run
large, they bite it, then spin on the long axis of
weight of nearly half a ton or 1,000 pounds. Alliga-
30 miles-per-hour for quite a few yards.
their bodies to tear off easily swallowed pieces.
tors have a long snout with upward facing nostrils
Because alligators will feed on almost anything,
at the end; this lets them breathe while the rest of
A FED GATOR IS A DEAD GATOR
the body is underwater. The young can be distin-
In their natural, wild state alligators-especially
some instances, be fatal.
guished from adults by the bright yellow stripes
the big ones-tend go out of their way to avoid
on the tail; adults have dark stripes on the tail.
people, their only natural enemy. But if alligators
Habitat
get too used to people, they can become bold
The American alligator is found from North Caro-
Female alligators usually remain in a small area.
around humans. Even worse, if an alligator is fed
lina to Texas. Alligators are usually found in fresh-
The males occupy areas larger than two square
by people, the creatures will start to associate hu-
water, in slow-moving rivers. They are also found
miles. Both males and females extend their ranges
mans with food. Rather than run from you, they’ll
in swamps, marshes, and lakes. While they can
during the
come closer to investigate.
only tolerate salt water for brief periods, they are
courting
and breeding season.
Young alligators re-
This is a bad situation, either for the gator, or
infinitely worse, for a person who gets too close.
Any large, aggressive alligators will have to be
removed and destroyed.
main in the
DO NOT FEED ALLIGATORS.
area where
FEEDING ALLIGATORS IS ILLEGAL IN
SOUTH CAROLINA.
they are
hatched
they pose a mild threat to humans and can, in
able to survive in our lagoons and lakes because
the water is brackish.
LifeSpan
American alligators may live to about 50 years.
After it is four feet long, an alligator is safe from
predators except humans and other alligators.
AGGRESSIVE GATOR?
and where they are
Diet in the Wild
protected by their mother. After two to three
Alligators are carnivorous. They eat fish, snails
If you identify an agressive alligator in Palmetto
years, they leave that area in search of food, or are
and other invertebrates, birds, frogs, and mam-
Dunes, contact the Palmetto Dunes Department
driven out by larger alligators.
mals that come to the water’s edge. (This could
of Security Operations at (843) 785-1120.