10-foot alligators spotted in Alabama — but they’re no reason to worry, experts say
Alligators have been spotted in a northern Alabama creek, catching a few rays and swimming from shore to shore.
Some of them are massive.
David Champlin caught a glimpse of one of the reptilian giants and shared photos on a North Alabama wildlife sighting Facebook page on April 16.
“I’ve got lots of pictures of alligators, but they’re always in the water,” Champlin told AL.com. “We’ve seen them on the land, but I’ve never gotten that kind of picture before.”
He told AL.com the gator could have been anywhere from 10 to 12 feet long.
The largest alligator ever caught in Alabama was 15 feet long, weighing more than 1,000 pounds, according to the Associated Press.
Just a few days later, a user named Matthew King shared more photos of the enormous alligators on the Facebook page. The images showed two gators in the same creek as Champlin’s sighting.
The comments on both of the posts were roughly the same — this is nothing new.
“People that grew up here like myself have told people for year(s) that they were there,” one commenter said. “Been there as long as I’ve been there and can remember.”
“I’m 39 years old, been fishing those areas down there my whole life, they have been there the whole time, they won’t mess with you if you don’t mess with them,” another said.
‘Not a new phenomenon’
Limestone Creek is a subsidiary of the Tennessee River, running just south of Huntsville, Alabama, in the northern part of the state.
“Alligators in North Alabama are not a new phenomenon,” the city of Huntsville said.
In fact, they were introduced to the area on purpose.
Alligators were considered endangered in the middle of the 20th century, leaving many wildlife experts worried about the future of the species.
In 1979, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved 56 American alligators from Louisiana and placed them in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in hopes their population would grow in the area, AL.com reported.
The City of Huntsville said there has been an increase in sightings over the years as the population of alligators flourished.
“But those 56 alligators that were released in 1979 are probably why we see alligators here along the Tennessee River today,” manager of the Wheeler refuge, Dwight Cooley, told AL.com. “We have found nests on the refuge and we’ve heard reports of them elsewhere along the Tennessee River.”
The refuge is just a short drive from where Champlin and King spotted the huge alligators in Limestone Creek.
“I wouldn’t suggest a lot of people getting into the water,” Champlin told AL.com.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 10:54 AM with the headline "10-foot alligators spotted in Alabama — but they’re no reason to worry, experts say."
