“Gators!”

Robert and I spent last week house- and dog-sitting for daughter Amy at their place on Savannah’s Skidaway Island.

Perhaps the Greatest Joy of visiting Skidaway (other than grandchildren, of course) is the wide variety of wildlife that abounds at nearly every turn.

White-tailed deer run around as if they own the island (which of course, they actually do, or used to).

Raccoons, marsh rabbits, gray foxes, and opossums are common.

Dolphins and river otters.

A variety of native turtles, frogs, and non-venomous snakes are also present.

But by far, the true Attention Grabber on the island in many of the lagoons and waterways is the omnipresent American Alligator.

Robert and I saw four others (!) in this same pond on this day.

You simply learn to give alligators their space.

They are not inherently aggressive, naturally fearing humans and usually prefer to retreat or swim away when approached. The problem comes when humans illegally feed alligators. They learn to associate people with food and may aggressively approach them.