Beware of ‘large, aggressive alligator’ roaming shores of Alabama city, officials say

The people of Daphne, Alabama, are being warned an aggressive alligator is patrolling the banks of Mobile Bay and to avoid doing anything to attract its attention.

It’s big and apparently mean.

“Please be aware that a large, aggressive alligator was spotted this morning (July 19) south of Bayside Academy (between Belrose Park and May Day Park) along the shores of Mobile Bay,” city officials wrote in a Facebook post.

“Proper authorities have been notified and are addressing the situation. In the meantime, please be aware of its presence and do not approach or provoke the alligator.”

Belrose and May Day parks are about a three-tenths of a mile apart.

The warning was issued after the alligator, estimated at 13 feet, began “acting erratically,” including chasing “a fisherman in a boat,” Mayor Robin LeJeune told WALA. No injuries were reported, the station said.

Alabama is estimated to have as many as 70,000 alligators, and Daphne is among the cities where conflicts with humans have been reported.

In 2020, “an enormous alligator” confronted two women in kayaks in Daphne’s Lake Forest area, flipping one in the water and blocking them from getting to shore, AZ Animals reports.

“They weren’t able to get out of the water until firefighters threw them a rope and pulled them to shore. Although the firefighters didn’t measure the alligator, they estimated it to be about 14 feet long,” the site reported.

It is illegal to feed alligators in Alabama, due to concerns they will begin aggressively approaching people with an expectation of food, experts say.