How to Swim In Alligator Country

American alligators can be dangerous.

If you live in areas where alligators exist, swimming can be an exercise in survival skills if you are not careful. Every year, people are killed by alligators, and most of those deaths could have been prevented with some simple safety steps. Knowing how to swim in alligator country is really common sense and understanding alligator behavior.

Instructions

1. Leave the pets at home. A dog running along the shoreline will attract an alligator in a heartbeat. They will be at extreme risk in an area where alligators may be present.

2. Follow directions on posted signs. In alligator country, signs will often be posted to warn of known alligators. If it tells you they are there, do not ignore the warning.

3. Stay clear of any unknown bodies of water. This is especially true of bodies of water with lots of vegetation and brush around the edges. Alligators are ambush predators and can hide amazingly well, regardless of size.

4. Avoid the water at dusk, dawn and night. This is the alligator's feeding time and will increase your odds of being attacked.

5. Resist the urge to judge alligator activity based on the size of the body of water. Just because a body of water is tiny, it does not mean that it is alligator-free. Alligators have been known to inhabit the smallest of ponds and even creeks.

6. Swim in larger groups and try not to swim off by yourself. Alligators are predators of the highest order. They will see a lone swimmer straying from the group as weak, and it could provoke an attack.

7. Scan every swimming hole for alligators beforehand. This should be done even in places that have been labeled as alligator-free. Alligators relocate from time to time.

Tips & Warnings

• Never risk swimming in an area that has been known to have alligators.

• If you are not certain, stay out of the water.

• Never feed, provoke, or otherwise go near an alligator.