Three Kinds of Alligators to be Aware Of...
Bulls
Mothers
Those alligators that people have fed.
Bulls are big and black in appearance. I've had average size alligators slap the water with massive tails as though angry at my presence, but they haven't advanced on me. However, big bulls confront everything. They are fearless, and for good reason. They have no natural enemy. Bull alligators are at the top of the food chain, taking razorback hogs, deer and most any animal unfortunate enough to wander close to their ambush. Sometimes the ambush is in plain sight of prey. Often an alligator will simply appear to sleep, and animals or people are lured into a false sense of security. Alligators have very small brains in comparison to body size, and that brain cares about one thing, food.
Mothers, though they are smaller become highly defensive of their young. They will battle even large bull gators.
The ones having been fed are easy to spot in that they approach people. If you get out of your vehicle and stand on the side of a canal for instance, those gators will inevitably swim toward you.
-Alligators grow to 14 feet in length, although the average length is around 12 feet.
-Weigh up to 1000 pounds (360 kg),
-Run short bursts on land faster than a man.
-Lunge from water, the massive tail a single muscle.
Alligator eyes are similar to cat eyes in that they have a vertical slit pupil. The pupil stays perpendicular to the ground at all times. When the animal rises, or lifts its head the eyeball adjusts, floating the pupil slit upright. This compensates for off level vision and creates a keen sense of balance. Only when the animal is turned on its back does it lose visual balance.
Snakes...
The most common venomous snake in the Glades is the Cottonmouth, an aggressive predator. They lie in wait in grassy areas, often on the edge of road embankments to survey the water below, whether pond, canal, or empty depression. If you disturb one it may strike, and these snakes do so without warning. For this reason no one should get out of a vehicle wearing sandals.