No pets are allowed on the refuge because dogs are particularly attractive to alligators. Alligators look docile and quiet when they are sunning. Don't be fooled. They can be fierce and can run pretty fast. Just don't try to walk down to get near the alligator.
Volunteers do give tours of the refuge, but a call is needed two weeks in advance.
The refuge office can be reached at 652-4415. Hours are basically sunup to sundown. Oatland Island is home to one alligator, a 7-foot male residing within a natural area of approximately 1,400 square yards. A bridge spanning its marshy habitat affords a chance to catch a glimpse of the alligator as it wallows in one of the shallow bogs that make up its home. Kevin Morley, a longtime Oatland staffer, keeps his eye on this alligator, supplementing its nature-found diet of crabs, possum and other creatures with small mammals, birds and fish three days per week.