Georgia on My Blog: Alligators!

When I went to Georgia, I was looking forward to seeing a landscape and wildlife different than that of my hometown Kootenays. I was certainly not disappointed!

I saw an alligator in the wild for the first time in Okefenokee National Wildlife Reserve in Georgia. Alligators, floating like placid logs amid the cypress trees and water lilies, are deceptive. They seem docile, floating motionless in the water, but the teeth belie that impression! I found myself remembering old movies where the star accidentally steps on such a floating alligator. Large alligators actually creak as they pull themselves onto their feet and walk on land. Some alligators seem to smile – through a mouthful of teeth. When watching alligators in a cypress swamp, you could almost believe a dinosaur could walk by. Very cool!

When I told one fellow how excited I was to have seen alligators he laughed and said he was from Florida and that alligators were no big deal. When I told him bears were no big deal where I lived he commented “You can keep the bears – I’ll take the alligators any day”. Each to his own. Alligators are definitely cool, but I am more familiar with a forest where a bear may amble by. However, the next time I cross a stream on a log, I may remember the alligators!

pretending to be a log?

American Alligator

The first alligator I have seen

smiling through a mouthful of teeth

A large American Alligator walking on land

American Alligator floating in the water at Okefenokee

all photos and writing copyright J.A. Siderius