Latest news with #MarkTeshera
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Florida scientists work out what causes the majority of alligators to attack humans
In groundbreaking new research, scientists in Florida determined that almost all alligator attacks were actually due to risky behavior from humans. Researchers at both the University of Florida and Centre College in Kentucky published the first-ever study into what humans were doing immediately before an encounter with an alligator. The experts found that 96 per cent of recorded reptile 'attacks' occurred immediately after a human had engaged in 'risky' behavior, and published the findings in the Human-Wildlife Interactions journal where, in April, they announced beast bites were preventable. The study's lead and professor at Centre College Mark Teshera said the findings show that alligator 'attacks' aren't actually attacks at all. He said: 'It was important to create a ranking system for risky human behaviors because it showed that the overwhelming majority of bites stemmed from some level of humans engaging in risky behavior in places where alligators live. 'Therefore, we should not call these encounters "attacks". The professor added that the motivation for the study was to determine if the beasts were misrepresented. Scientists concluded that humans shoulder a majority of the blame for alligator bites, and the predators don't typically go looking to attack people. Professor Frank Mazzotti said: 'The takeaway lesson from this study is that many bites can be prevented if humans are aware of their surroundings and minimize risky behaviors, such as walking small pets near bodies of water or swimming where alligators are known to be present.' Scientists believe that alligators won't go looking for conflict but will respond if presented with an 'attractive stimulus', which could be something that would spook them like splashing, swimming, or just as a presence in their natural habitat. When researchers specifically looked at fatal bites, they found humans were often engaging in high-risk behavior beforehand. This can be defined as deliberately entering the alligator's habitat. Humans who simply walked near the water or the alligator's habitat on land were rarely bitten. Mazzotti said the findings could help protect the reptiles from being euthanized by authorities if they were to bite a human. Typically, when an attack occurs, authorities will attempt to identify the alligator, capture it, and euthanize them. If humans are conscious of not disturbing the creatures, they're less likely to get attacked, and the alligators won't be senselessly killed.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Florida scientists work out what's behind 96% of alligator attacks on humans
In groundbreaking new research, Florida scientists determined that almost all alligator attacks were caused by risky behavior from humans. Researchers at the University of Florida and Centre College in Kentucky published the first-ever research studying what humans were doing immediately before an alligator encounter. They found that a whopping 96 percent of recorded 'alligator attacks' occurred right after humans were engaging in 'risky' behavior. Researchers published the study in the Human-Wildlife Interactions journal and announced in April that alligator bites are preventable. Mark Teshera, the study's lead and a biology professor at Centre College, said the findings show that alligator 'attacks' aren't actually attacks at all. 'It was important to create a ranking system for risky human behaviors because it showed that the overwhelming majority of bites stemmed from some level of humans engaging in risky behavior in places where alligators live,' Teshera said. 'Therefore, we should not call these encounters 'attacks.'' Teshera added that the motivation for the study was to determine if alligators were misrepresented. Scientists concluded that humans shoulder a majority of the blame for alligator bites, and the predators don't typically go looking to attack people. 'The takeaway lesson from this study is that many bites can be prevented if humans are aware of their surroundings and minimize risky behaviors such as walking small pets near bodies of water or swimming where alligators are known to be present,' Professor of Wildlife Ecology Frank Mazzotti said. Scientists believe that alligators won't go looking for conflict but will respond if presented with an 'attractive stimulus.' The stimulus can be something that would spook the alligator, including splashing, swimming, or a presence in their natural habitat. When researchers specifically looked at fatal bites, they found humans were often engaging in high-risk behavior beforehand. This can be defined as deliberately entering the alligator's habitat. Humans who simply walked near the water or the alligator's habitat on land were rarely bitten. Mazzotti said the findings could help protect alligators from being euthanized by authorities for biting a human. Typically, when an attack occurs, authorities will attempt to identify the alligator, capture it, and euthanize them. Although alligator attacks are rare, a Florida woman named Rachel Thompson was bitten last July while swimming in Hillsborough River If humans are conscious of not disturbing the creatures, they're less likely to get attacked, and the alligators won't be senselessly killed. The information is particularly useful as Floridians prepare for alligator season, which runs from April to June. The spring is when alligators mate, and they're more active, which can lead to an increase in human interactions. Researchers advise Floridians to be aware of alligator habitats and avoid swimming in the area. Last July, a woman named Rachel Thompson was swimming in Hillsborough River when she was bitten by an alligator. The alligator bit her leg as she attempted to escape by throwing a rock and punching it. Thompson miraculously pried the alligator's mouth open, and her son helped her escape. Another woman was recently attacked while she paddled in a canoe near the mouth of Tiger Creek.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Bit By a Gator? It's Your Own Dang Fault, Scientists Say
Every spring, when alligators get frisky, at least one, if not several, people in the South get bitten or even killed by one of the big swamp lizards. Last week, it was an elderly man in South Carolina, who was gardening near a pond when a gator latched onto him. Joseph Roeser, 80, was lucky to have his wife nearby. She took a tomato stake and stabbed the gator in the head until it released her husband. The list of other recent victims goes on. It includes kayakers, fishermen, disc golfers, scuba divers, and a few other senior citizens who were attacked by alligators in their own neighborhoods. And although these folks might not like hearing it, wildlife experts at the University of Florida and Centre College say that in almost all of these incidents, it's the people — and not the gators — who were at fault. In a new study, published Wednesday in the journal Human-Wildlife Interactions, researchers found that in 96 percent of recorded gator attacks, some form of 'human inattention' or 'risk-taking' preceded the attack. Centre College biology professor Mark Teshera, one of the study's lead authors, drew a comparison between gators and snakes, which are often blamed for being overly aggressive, when in reality, they mostly bite people when they are startled or about to get stepped on. Read Next: Florida Man Runs Over Gator to Save His Neighbor 'I wondered if crocodilians had an unwarranted reputation for attacks the same way snakes do,' Teshera said in a UF press release summarizing the study. 'It was important to establish a ranking system for risky human behaviors because it showed that the overwhelming majority of bites stemmed from some level of humans engaging in risky behavior in places where alligators live.' To create this ranking system, researchers dug into the CrocBITE database and looked hundreds of years of records of human-alligator interactions. The team then analyzed those records alongside news reports and investigations by wildlife agencies to determine whether the level of 'human behavior risk' was low, moderate, high, or no risk at all. They concluded that most bites and attacks followed moderate-risk behaviors, such as swimming or wading in waters with known alligator populations. By the same logic, fatal attacks were more likely to occur after high-risk behaviors, like knowingly jumping into a gator-infested pond to retrieve a frisbee. (Yes, this has happened.) But the catch here is that you don't have to do something dumb or risky — like actively provoke a gator — to still be considered at fault, by the researchers' standards. Joseph Roeser was simply gardening by a pond when he was attacked by the gator. Read Next: Fossil Hunter Fights Off Gator Attack, with a Screwdriver, While Trapped Underwater 'The takeaway lesson … is that many bites can be prevented if humans are aware of their surrounding and minimize risky behaviors such as walking small pets near bodies of water or swimming where alligators are known to be present,' says Frank Mazzotti, another lead authors and a professor of wildlife ecology at UF. 'Ultimately, the study underscores that situational awareness and informed choices, especially during recreational activities in alligator country, can help protect both people and wildlife.' So, in other words, researchers have concluded what we've always known: The gators were here first, and we're interlopers in their habitat. So if you find yourself near gator-infested waters anytime soon, remember to watch your six.
