If you live in northern Georgia and think alligators are just a Florida problem, prepare for a reality check. The Peach State state hosts roughly 225,000 of these prehistoric party crashers, and they are getting more active as temperatures rise.
🐊 What We Know: Georgia wildlife officials want residents to get “GatorWise” before summer kicks into high gear. These scaly locals make their homes in any water body south of an invisible line connecting Columbus to Macon to Augusta. That means if you live in the southern half of the state, you have neighbors with very impressive teeth.
🎯 Why This Should Catch Your Attention: Kara Nitschke, the state’s alligator biologist, says people spend more time outdoors when weather warms up. That creates more opportunities for awkward encounters with creatures that have been perfecting their survival skills since the dinosaur era. Alligators are native Georgians and serve important roles in local ecosystems, which means they are not going anywhere.
📋 The GatorWise Playbook: Wildlife experts say smart behavior prevents problems. Always assume alligators live in any water body within their range. They excel at hiding and pop up in unexpected places, especially after storms or floods. Never feed them, either on purpose or by accident. Tossing fish scraps into water counts as accidental feeding and breaks state law. Feeding alligators teaches them to associate humans with dinner, which erases their natural fear of people.
🚫 What Not to Do: Skip the wildlife selfies and alligator wrestling fantasies. Approaching, capturing or handling alligators puts you in danger. Keep pets on leashes and away from water edges since alligators cannot distinguish between pets and prey. Small children need constant supervision near water.
⚠️ Stay Alert: Watch for alligator warning signs and avoid swimming in areas thick with vegetation. Stick to daylight hours for water activities and maintain distance if you spot an alligator.
Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
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B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
