TAMPA, Fla. — Alligator mating season starts April 1. That means gators will be more active, and people need to be more vigilant.
10 Tampa Bay Reporter Liz Crawford talked to experts about the busy gator mating season and why there seem to be more encounters.
According to Jason Reiter with ZooTampa, there are at least one million gators in the Sunshine State.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission keeps track of alligator incidents in the state. Experts predict we're seeing more encounters because more and more people continue to move to the state.
Over the next several months, you're much more likely to see a gator.
"It's been cold all winter, the animals are just starting to warm up, their hormones start to go and they start to go into more of a breeding mode," Reiter said.
After mating season, nesting season starts in June when eggs will incubate close to a body of water for about two months.
"Definitely stay away from the nesting sites, that's one thing that mama gator will not let slide is anything going near her nest or her babies," Reiter said.
Last year, the Tampa Bay area had at least a half dozen gator encounters. Eric Merda lived to tell his story.
He had his arm bitten off by a gator last July. Doctors amputated most of what was left. He admits, he shouldn't have swam in Lake Manatee in Myakka City.
"Not the smartest decision a Florida boy could make," Merda said.
FWC experts said to be careful walking pets and small children around water, especially at dusk and dawn when the gators are looking for food.