Well, for future reference, even I (with my femur the way it is) could easily avoid a gator - on land.
In the water, we're pretty well fucked if a gator decides we're food. Still, some folks survive even that. They get fucked up by a gator, but they survive. So, stay out of the water if you don't want to have to worry about 'em. When you're in the water, you're in their domain.
Also, once its down below like 65° gators won't do too much. They're cold blooded creatures and they slow down, not even eating, when the temperatures drop too low. They're mostly interested in sunning themselves at that point, or hanging out in the mud under the water.
I will make it a point to remember that. I don't encounter gators all that often but you never know
Given your geographical location, you probably won't have to worry too much about gators hurting you. Then again, even people living in gator territory don't have to worry too much about gators hurting them. We're really not on their list of favorite foods.
I like 'em. They're pretty much unchanged since before the dinosaurs. They're positively prehistoric. They've managed to survive the most amazing events, which is a feat by itself. Well, their species has. There have been some changes, some speciation, but they're still kicking. Unless we cause them to go extinct, they might outlive homo sapiens.
I think the most prehistoric creature that we have around here of any significance are the sturgeon
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