BUFFALO NEWS (New York) 25 September 05 Alligator sightings attacks skyrocket
The number of alligator sightings and attacks in Florida has nearly tripled in recent decades, according to a paper being published in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.
As more Americans move to coastal communities and the country's alligator population continues to rebound, humans are increasingly encountering the once-endangered species.
In Florida, the number of alligator attacks has risen from an annual average of five between 1948 and 1986 to 14 between 1986 and 2005, said Ricky Langley, a medical epidemiologist at North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services. The number of "nuisance complaints" or sightings in Florida increased from 5,000 in 1978 to nearly 15,000 in 1998.
"It's pretty much a straight line going up," Langley said in an interview, adding that Americans "just have to be more careful, and be on the lookout when they're on the water or on golf courses."
The trend marks a sharp departure from the late 1960s, when federal officials listed the American alligator as an endangered species. U.S. alligators, which made it off the endangered species list in 1987, now number more than 3 million.
Alligator sightings attacks skyrocket