FAQ: Are there Alligators there?

I understand not being sure what to think/do about alligators. They have a strange and curious beauty. Dewees Island has gators. Lots of alligators. Here’s a quick video of the way you are most likely to see them– on a raft in a pond.

Having lived in SC for 8 years now, I am usually pretty comfortable with them, but every so often one surprises me. There has never been a recorded fatal alligator attack on a human in the state, and an alligator has to be at least 5 feet long before it can do major damage to a normal sized dog or small person. Their brains are the size of walnuts, and their main prey is dying fish, small mammals near the water (like rabbits, rats, etc.) and anything else that happens to get near the water (like wading birds.) They kill their prey by dragging it into the water and drowning it. I have heard it said that the best defense against a charging alligator is to make yourself tall, because they will decide you are too much trouble. (And I have never seen or heard of an alligator charging a person in SC).

On Dewees, you are most likely to encounter alligators from the safety of a golf cart or bicycle, and usually they just slither off into the water when they see you coming. They often move around at night, and you can see their tracks in the road in the mornings. And there is a very large one who lives near Huyler House pond and suns herself on a raft there.

You can stay safe from alligators by not feeding them (most people wouldn’t feed them intentionally, but you will want to be careful not to leave bycatch from a cast net or crabbing session in the water for them to find, and don’t fish with a lure or bait in the impoundment.) I have been surprised by an alligator that took my crab line and ate my bait! Do not approach or feed gators. NEVER throw anything at them, like rocks. It is against federal and state law to harass an alligator.

You will want to keep your dog on a leash (this is actually island policy for the safety of our shorebirds) and DON’T let them swim in the ponds and lakes on the island. So long as you stay more than 10 feet or so from shore, you are very unlikely to encounter an alligator that thinks of your dog as prey. Here’s another video about how to stay safe while crabbing.

Alligators: Living with a top predator from BluePixy on Vimeo.

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