‘There’s gators everywhere.’ Mass alligator gathering investigated in Georgia canal

Caption

A mysterious congregation of alligators was recorded in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, and researchers are trying to figure out what caused the rarely witnessed occurrence.

Credit: Marty Welch/ Facebook (Screengrab)

A rarely witnessed congregation of American alligators was recorded in southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, and researchers are trying to figure out why it happened.

Video of the terrifying mass gathering was shared July 16 on Facebook by boater Marty Welch and it had been viewed more than 415,000 times as of July 23.

It shows Welch and a frightened companion were surrounded by alligators in a narrow canal, and the reptiles were packed so tightly they could be seen crawling atop each other in the water.

“Good god almighty,” Welch is heard saying in the video. “...There’s gators everywhere.”

Welch, who lives in nearby Fargo, estimated as many as 60 were in the water and more sat on the bank, but experts believe the numbers were much higher.

The University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant saw the video and they have begun an investigation into what drew so many alligators to one spot.

“We went out to try and see it for ourselves and document the event but were a bit too late,” the university’s Coastal Ecology Lab wrote in a July 22 Facebook post.

“While we didn’t see the actual congregation we did see the aftermath which was about 150 alligators over a mile and a half span out in Billy’s Lake.”

Those alligators were counted by Ph.D. student Mark Hoog, who took a boat out to the remote spot.

Such congregations are “a fairly rare event” and involve large numbers of alligators cramming themselves into a small area, Hoog said in a video posted on Facebook.

“We’re not entirely sure why this happens. What we’ve noticed is it happens during periods of low water, so we think it might have something to do with resources,” Hoog says.

“It might be a feeding event that’s triggered during this low water when there’s not a ton of resources. They’re all coming together, but we’re not sure.”

He added that 150 Georgia alligators in a one-and-a-half-mile area is “a lot of alligators.”

Alligators are native to Okefenokee Swamp, 353,981 acres of which is protected as a national wildlife refuge. It’s estimated about 15,000 alligators live in the murky water, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Males are known to be highly territorial, which adds to the mystery of why so many went to one spot, experts say.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.