A hole on the disc golf course is as close as 25 to 50 feet from the water, Cozzie said. “Certainly it would be wise for the disc golf group to consider moving the hole,” she added.
He described the lake as connected to other nearby bodies of water, making it “almost a highway for alligators to roam throughout the county.” There are signs warning people not to go in, and even park rangers are not allowed to go into the lake, Cozzie said.
During mating season, which occurs in May or June, alligators become more aggressive and territorial, Cozzie said. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn, according to the wildlife commission, which said in a news release that an alligator hunter was dispatched “to remove a nearby alligator” after the discovery of the body.
Pets are more commonly attacked by alligators than people, Cozzie said. According to data from the wildlife commission, in the last 10 years there has been an average of eight “significant” incidents of alligators biting people in Florida, resulting in four total deaths.
The remains of a 47-year-old woman walking her dogs were discovered inside an alligator in 2018, and an alligator kidnapped a 2-year-old boy from a Disney resort in 2016.
According to the wildlife commission, a population of about 1.3 million alligators is found in “virtually every fresh and brackish water body” in the state. The group says alligators are “naturally afraid of humans,” but feeding alligators, which is illegal, causes them to dangerously associate people with food.
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