Damage and Damage Identification

American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis

Damage by alligators is usually limited to injuries or death to humans or domestic animals. Most alligator bites occur in Florida, which has documented approximately 140 unprovoked attacks from 1972 to 1991, or about 7 per year. Since 1972, 5 deaths have been positively attributed to alligators. Historically, nonfatal attacks have also been documented in South Carolina (8), Louisiana (2), Texas (1), Georgia (1), and Alabama (1).

Alligators inflict damage with their sharp, cone-shaped teeth and powerful jaws. Bites are characterized by puncture wounds and/or torn flesh. Alligators, like other crocodilians that take large prey, prefer to seize an appendage and twist it off by spinning. Many serious injuries have involved badly damaged and broken arms on humans, and legs on animals. Sometimes alligators bite or eat previously drowned persons. Coroners can usually determine whether a person drowned before or after being bitten. Stories of alligators breaking the legs of full-grown men with their tails are unfounded.

Alligators sometimes excavate extensive burrows or dens for refuges from cold temperatures, drought, and predators (other alligators and humans). Burrowing by alligators can damage dikes in impoundments.

Legal Status

The American alligator is federally classified as “threatened due to similarity of appearance” to other endangered and threatened crocodilians. This provides federal protection for alligators, but allows state-approved management and control programs. Alligators can be legally taken only by individuals with proper licenses or permits. Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas have problem or nuisance alligator control programs that allow permitted hunters to kill or facilitate the removal of nuisance alligators. Other states use state wildlife officials to remove problem animals.

Economics of Damage and Control

Alligators can cause injuries and death to humans, livestock, and pets. All alligator bites require medical treatment and serious bites may require hospitalization. Infections can result from alligator bites, particularly from the Aeromonas spp. bacteria. Lawsuits that arise from findings of negligence on the part of a private owner or governmental agency responsible for an attack site can lead to significant economic liability.

In Florida, approximately 15% of the alligator complaints are due to fear of pet losses, and to a lesser extent, livestock losses. Losses of livestock other than domestic waterfowl, however, are uncommon and difficult to verify. Levees damaged by alligator burrows or dens may require repair.

Alligators are valuable for their skin and meat. An average-sized nuisance alligator typically yields 8 feet (2.4 m) of skin and 30 pounds (13.5 kg) of boneless meat with a wholesale value of $390 (at $30 per foot for skins and $5 per pound for meat). Other products such as skulls, teeth, fat, and organs can be sold, but account for less than 10% of the value of an alligator. Nuisance alligator control programs in several states use the sale of alligator skins to offset costs of removal and administration.

Florida has the most pressing nuisance alligator problem and currently harvests about 4,000 alligators per year. Nuisance alligator harvests also occur in Louisiana (600), Georgia (400), South Carolina (250), and Texas (50).