The decline of the alligator throughout most of the 20 th Century has disrupted this relationship and altered the ecology of Florida's wetlands. Alligator's predatory habits Alligators eat anything that they catch, including fish turtles raccoons birds dead animals other alligators and the occasional human. An alligator can float motionless in the water with only its eyes and nostrils exposed, waiting for a meal. Its powerful jaws can easily crush the shell of a turtle or the bones of an animal. Danger of alligators to humans Alligators have been known to injure or kill people and pets.
Most attacks occur in the water, suggesting victims are mistaken for prey.
The Florida Fish and Game Commission receives thousands of nuisance complaints every year. Many of these alligators must be killed because there are few places where they can be relocated. Without a resident alligator, the ponds fill up with mud and vegetation within a few years. Wetlands landscape The ponds, nests and trails of alligators have shaped and contoured the landscape of the Florida wetlands. The compacted vegetation left in the old nest mounds and pond banks form a peat that is resistant to decay and fire.