NEAR BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – “Good God almighty!”
That is what a pair of boaters screamed when they took a turn right into hundreds of alligators.
Marty Welch and a companion were boating in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, when they suddenly came upon the congregation of gators.
On video, which was posted by the wildlife refuge, Welch is heard saying there were alligators everywhere.
He estimated that there were more than a hundred gators in the water, and even more on the banks of the creek.
Welch’s companion urged him to turn the boat around, but Welch wasn’t deterred and piloted the skiff straight towards the beasts.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge sits at the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Mary’s rivers and is located in both North Florida and South Georgia.
This herd of gators is an extreme case, and is basically in the middle of nowhere, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission just posted on Thursday morning about how the recent warmer weather equals more active alligators.
The FWC urges people to avoid walking pets near bodies of water, and to only swim in designated swimming areas.
Scientists say alligators are most active between dusk and dawn, so avoid swimming at night.