The Gator Encounter

Note: Photos will become blurry, read on to see why

A couple of months ago we visited Augusta, GA. With my new love of photographing birds and Jim’s love of being in nature, it seemed natural to hike a nearby preserve. Jim was excited, hoping to see his first alligator. Having lived in Florida, I have seen a few alligators and felt like the expert, guiding Jim on all the do’s and don’ts.

Sometimes thinking you know everything backfires.

The hike started out well, seeing a butterfly or two, Spanish moss mixed with fall colors, and a great blue heron, before we entered “the swamp”. Often preserves have an elevated walkway or bridge as one progresses through the swampy areas. This preserve was no different, however, the walkway was a little rickety and had a few holes making it a little unnerving. But we made it to the other side without a wet foot.

There were several ponds in the preserve and having seen a couple of them, we decided it was time to go home. That is when we turned, and Jim saw his first alligator! It was a small gator (#1) and at a distance. We weren’t sure if a mama could be close by, so we decided to take the next trail to the truck.

As we headed to the next path, we came upon another alligator (#2), right next to the path (which, by the way, is fenced but chewed out at the bottom). After a bit of a discussion, and the hesitant urge to take a photo, my brave husband decided it would be safe to walk slowly past said gator who appeared to be quite sleepy. He was right, and we continued on.

Shortly after, we heard a big splash and realized we had scared another gator (#3) into the water. He was big but behind an unchewed fence, so we felt safe, even though he seemed to follow in the water next to us as we walked down the path. Excitement to see an alligator was fading but we would soon be back to the truck.

As we walked to the next path, we saw alligator (#4) in the pond at a safe distance. Finally, we made it to the path…. only to see another gator (#5) sprawled out across the path! So, we proceeded to the next path. I kid you not, the next path had the largest alligator (#6) I have ever seen! He was as big around as he was long – and he was blocking that path!!! Knees knocking, the “expert” was now shaking like a leaf, leaving my husband to save me.

After deciding that proceeding farther into the preserve to the next trail was not a good idea, we decided to go back the way we came, back to the rickety, hole filled walkway. No sooner did we start our walk back; we saw alligator (#7) or was he (#2)?? (they were all looking the same) writhing about, stuck in the fence! We were not going back that way!

As we stood contemplating what to do next, I noticed (#3), although behind the fence in the water, coming towards us – eyes watching our every move until he sank under water to places unknown. He was stalking us!

We felt stuck and decided to call the park office to find out how to handle a situation like this. Maybe they would bring a helicopter and lift us out because this girl was not walking anywhere! Unfortunately, this wasn’t a state park and of the many numbers we called, no one answered. It didn’t take long for me to decide – perhaps a little sooner than Jim might have wanted – to call 911! I’m not too proud to admit it.

To make a long dramatic story shorter, about an hour later a game warden and a police officer showed up scaring (#5) gator into the water, keeping him at bay until we could walk to safety. You will notice a photo of them – it’s very blurry because I was shaking so badly! Needless to say, we learned if we had walked farther into the park, the number of gators would have increased.

We learned alligators will typically be scared and move when approached. However, we were also told gator (#6) was so big and old that he would not likely have moved for us to walk past. Since that time, we have spoken with park rangers and learned we were not the only ones that have faced a gator encounter, and our decision was the best given the situation. We now take a walking stick with us on hikes and have avoided visiting preserves that do not have a good exit strategy. And Jim? He has now seen his fill of gators – happy not to encounter another one again!