Alligators lining up at Davis Pond diversion for a fish buffet

Alligators waiting for an easy meal at the Davis Pond diversion in Ama.
Alligators waiting for an easy meal at the Davis Pond diversion in Ama.

In the warmer temperatures of Davis Pond in Ama, alligators are lining up taking advantage of an easy meal with fish flowing in the freshwater diversion.

“When you have a water diversion and it’s in an area with really good alligator habitat, often with moving water with fish, the gators will get there for the food,” said Jeb Linscombe, alligator program manager with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

They are there and many of them swimming against the water flowing into Davis Pond to be the first to gobble a fish.

These reptiles come out of hibernation from winter and start moving in the warmer weather.

“That occurrence is very common,” he said of them congregating at freshwater diversions. “They go directly to that food source.”

The alligators frequent the diversions when it warms up, Linscombe said. If it gets warmer, they’ll also go onshore to warm in the sun and should be left alone. Don’t feed them either.

He advised against getting in the water with them.

“If you stay out of the water they shouldn’t be dangerous,” Linscombe said.

The alligators don’t typically pose nuisance issues because they’re at diversions, which are away from people.

Linscombe said they are the American alligator, the only species of alligator in Louisiana. They can reach about 13 feet long, but that’s uncommon.

 

 

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