Dry Season is the bigger threat. Hormones (Breeding) make them loud, but Geography (Dry Season) makes them close. In a normal season, a gator will hear you coming and slide into deep water to avoid you. In a dry season, there is no deep water for them to hide in, so they stay on the surface and stare you down.

@Michael Lohse I love campfire time, be glad when we out this drought and the fire bans are lifted.

@Michael Lohse It was in the nineties this weekend with no rain in the forecast here. We are 25 inches behind already this year, not counting what we were behind last year. Rivers and my pond are as low as I have ever saw them

@Sarah Geelan The Okefenokee Swamp is home to an estimated 15,000 alligators. With the water being as low as you described (having to drag the canoe), they all get "pinched" into the remaining deep-water canals and lakes. That’s why you’re seeing 50 to 70 in a single stretch. You aren't just seeing a lot of them; you're seeing the entire neighborhood forced into one hallway. The Attack History This is the part that should help you sleep a little better: In the nearly 90-year history of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, there has never been a documented alligator attack on a human. There are old stories from the 1800s logging days of gators biting boats or oars (like the one you hit with the trolling motor), but as far as the modern refuge goes, they have a "Zero Attack" record. They are highly territorial, but unless they’ve been fed by humans, they generally want to keep their distance as much as you do.

@Brad Weyant it was a great weekend. should make a good video or 2

@Evelene Sterling I had a long pole with the camera on it. Water was like 5 foot down from the dock.

@Maren Bruun they normally hang right at the shore line. Yes it was, I had a long pole with the camera on it. Water was like 5 foot down from the dock.