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230 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2006 COMMENTARY

Florida recently reported another alligator attack. As more
people invade alligator habitat in southern states, we have

(or at least should have) come to expect such news. Contact
between us and them is steadily increasing. Ironically, humans,
the invasive species, are the ones who become offended when
another species takes objection to our presence.

I do not want to belittle or trivialize the traumatic experi-
ence suffered by anyone who has been injured by an alligator or
had a family member, friend, or pet actually killed by one.
However, a comparison between American Alligators (Alligator
mississippiensis) and some crocodiles is worth considering, if for
no other reason than to show how a truly aggressive species
copes with interlopers. The Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus
porosus) of Australia are very different from American Alligators
in their response to humans — they will attack and eat people.
These are the reptile world’s equivalent of Great White Sharks
or Bengal Tigers. They frequent ocean habitats as well as rivers
and freshwater marshes near where people live. Their maximum
size is enormous, more than 20 feet. A crocodile only 15 feet
long could easily kill and swallow a full-grown man.

Despite prevailing views about the sanctity of human life,
some predators view people as simply another source of protein
— and people living in areas where such attacks are common
often develop different attitudes from those to which we are
accustomed. For example, one journalist noted that people
inhabiting the Northern Territory in Australia “seemed almost
jubilant whenever someone was taken by a crocodile.” When a
“mineworker met a grisly death in the jaws of a giant crocodile”
in a national park, many of the residents in the Northern
Territory displayed “widespread and bizarre delight” that the
crocodile had been victorious.

Once when I visited the region near Darwin, Australia,
someone was killed and eaten by a Saltwater Crocodile in the
Adelaide River. The local folks with whom I talked the next day
were seemingly unmoved by the incident. Why the lack of com-
passion by the residents? Because, as someone said, they view
themselves as “rugged frontiersmen carving out an existence in
an untamed wilderness.” They reject even the hint of a sugges-
tion that the crocodile population be reduced in any way.

The preservationist attitude about the Saltwater Crocodile
by old-time residents is based on the principle that the rivers of
northern Australia belong to the crocodile. If humans want to
share the waters and adjoining land, they must assess the risks of

these giant predators and be prepared to live (or die) with them.
This is my image of the pioneering spirit of early America, which
differs dramatically from the attitude of most Americans today.

What is the difference between an alligator and a crocodile,
aside from the fact that some crocodiles will eat people? The
answer is not simple. Almost two dozen species of crocodilians
exist today, which vary greatly in shape and size. However,
American Alligators have broad snouts, and American
Crocodiles (C. acutus), which are native to southern Florida,
have narrower snouts. Fortunately, American Crocodiles do not
indulge in the antisocial behavior of eating people. American
Crocodiles, in fact, behave somewhat like alligators, which are
usually shy and inoffensive.

Some people consider American Alligators a menace
because they occasionally attack people, but this seldom happens
without some provocation. Almost all alligator attacks can be
traced back to human irresponsibility of some sort, including
people feeding alligators. Yet, if an animal causes harm to peo-
ple, we hold the animal responsible, without considering that
we may have entered its natural environment, threatened its
young, and destroyed its habitat. Maybe Americans need to be
more accepting of the nature of wild animals and more willing
to share the environment with them. This doesn’t mean we must
acquiesce to the idea that humans are acceptable prey items, but
none of our native species are typically out to make a meal of us.

To avoid alligator attacks or other unfortunate encounters
with nature we must consider the rules of safety and probabili-
ties of risk when dealing with any animal that could bite, tram-
ple, scratch, sting, or otherwise injure us. Developing an attitude
that we must be responsible will be a good first step.

C O M M E N T A R Y

Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are much more aggressive
than American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) and American
Crocodiles (C. acutus).

Crocodiles And Alligators 
Are Very Different1

J. Whitfield Gibbons

Savannah River Ecology Lab, Aiken, South Carolina

1 Adapted with permission by the author and Partners in
Amphibian & Reptile Cconservation (http://www.parcplace.org/).

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