See You Later, Alligator? Florida Wishes It Were That Simple

By Linda Orlando

Florida is known for many things that make it unique among the other 49 states. Vast orange groves, palm trees, long white beaches, luxurious resorts, Disney World—and of course, the Everglades. And the most infamous resident of the Everglades is the alligator. Man and alligator have cohabitated in Florida for decades, but that peaceful coexistence is beginning to be strained. Over the last 58 years, there have been only 20 fatal attacks by alligators in Florida. But three of those fatal attacks happened last month.

On May 5, 28-year old model Yovy Suarez Jimenez went out jogging and was killed by an alligator who dragged her into a canal, where authorities later found her body. On May 14, near Lake George in Marion County, 23-year old Annemarie Campbell was attacked and killed by an alligator as her horrified companions beat and stabbed the animal in vain. The alligator eventually released Campbell, but it was too late. According to an autopsy, Campbell died from drowning and multiple blunt-force injuries. The same day wildlife officials found the body of Judy Cooper, 43, in a canal north of St. Petersburg, in Pinellas County. Cooper had also been attacked and killed by an alligator.

Shortly after the attacks, wildlife captured an 11’4", 407-pound alligator they think may have killed Campbell, because it had fresh scratch marks on its snout and a stab wound in its right eyelid. A forensic tooth expert is working to confirm that the bit marks on Campbell’s body match those of the gator’s teeth. Alligator experts have mixed opinions as to why the three women were killed in one week in three different regions of the state, with officials speculating about everything from the drought to mating season as being responsible.

But according to alligator trapper Todd Hardwick, of the wildlife control company Pesky Critters, the fatal maulings are just a horrible coincidence and have nothing to do with mating or drought. "We have dry season every three years and mating season every year," he said. "There’s no rhyme or reason. I’m as stunned as anybody." The recent fatal attacks have resulted in a deluge of calls from Florida residents to alligator trappers every time they spot one of the animals on their property. Under state law, trappers are not allowed to release trapped gators back into the wild; instead, they must be killed and their hides and meat harvested for use.

Ed Froehlich, an alligator farmer who owns Froehlich’s Gator Farm in Christmas, FL, has been raising alligators for over 40 years. "Everybody’s got their own ideas about things, but it’s just a rare coincidence," said Froehlich, who agrees that mating and drought had very little to do with the attacks. "These areas (where the attacks occurred) weren’t very concentrated with alligators. It’s not like alligators are vicious and hunting people." Froehlich believes that the housing development boom that has been taking place in Florida has encroached upon the alligator’s natural habitat, so the animals are increasingly interacting with humans. "Development all over the state is putting pressure on the animals. Alligators have to go further and further back," he said. "Sometimes these developments are good living conditions for gators. And people are throwing them hotdogs and marshmallows. They get to losing their fear of people."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, however, disagrees with the gator trappers and Everglades tour guides. "Our lakes, rivers, and canals are much lower than they have been, so that could be concentrating the food the alligator eats, like fish, into deeper pools," said Wille Puz, a spokesman for the commission. According to Puz, alligators are also more mobile in hotter weather and they tend to do their hunting in or near water, which is where people gather. "Alligators can be in any fresh water system in Florida," said Puz. "They hunt their prey at the water’s edge … If you’re by the water, pay attention to your surroundings."

Most importantly, experts caution, people should never approach or feed alligators, or they will lose their instinctual fear of humans and become bolder. Florida wildlife officials constantly warn that feeding an alligator is the worst thing you can do to avoid potentially lethal encounter.