Alligator sightings increasing across Arkansas
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ark. – When an alligator came across Trey Moss's job at a Jefferson County cotton field, it was not the sighting that excited him but the gator's size.
'Us living down here in the south, it's just a normal day for one that's small, but you get one that big and it's just like oh my gosh, that joker is massive!' Moss said.
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission joins other agencies on website for tips on living with alligators
He estimated the gator he photographed on May 18 was 12 feet long. When he posted the picture online, it went viral.
Moss said more people near him have been seeing more gators lately, which is no surprise to Amanda Bryant of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Bryant as the AGFC's conservation herpetologist, is responsible for all the state's reptiles and amphibians.
She explained that alligators were one of the inaugural endangered species in the early 1960s. Due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting, alligators were relocated to southern and central Arkansas by the thousands over a generation, building a healthy enough population to reintroduce a permitted hunting season in 2006.
'There are many, many many people in the state that didn't grow up having to be aware of alligators that didn't grow up with alligators in their backyard yard even though they would have been there 100 years before,' Bryant said.
Many states have seen an increased number of nuisance calls due to alligator sightings in recent years. It is why 11 southeastern states launched GatorWise.org. The site teaches six alligator basics to educate people on how to respect and coexist with alligators. For example, don't leave food near their habitat because it can make alligators interested in humans.
GatorWise is following the success of the website BearWise.org which 15 southeastern states launched for black bears in 2018. Bryant admitted many of the tips are consistent, but alligators are usually harder to spot and lack that cuddle factor people may associate with bears.
'People's immediate jump is there's an alligator here it must be a problem, when the alligator lives there. It's totally fine to see an alligator as long as it continues to show no interest in people it's perfectly safe. You've just got to be aware,' Bryant added.
Hunting seasons have also played a part in reducing nuisance calls according to Bryant. Hunters looking to bag an alligator in The Natural State can apply for permits for public land hunts from June 15-30 each year.
Alligator hunting on private property is managed through a quota system. Anyone may purchase a private land alligator hunting permit, but hunting season ends early if the quota for the alligator zone is met.
Arkansas hunters bring in 181 alligators during hunting season
Alligator hunting in Arkansas is open from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the last two weekends each September.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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