Watch: Hundreds of glowing gator eyes leer at scientists in Georgia swamp
In the rare sighting, about 300 alligators gathered in a boat basin between Stephen C. Foster State Park and Billy’s Lake within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Rare, mysterious gathering of hundreds of alligators in Georgia park
Hundreds of alligators were spotted mysteriously congregating for one day in a southern Georgia swamp this summer, leaving scientists perplexed.
FARGO, Ga. – Hundreds of alligators were spotted mysteriously congregating for one day in a southern Georgia swamp this summer, leaving scientists perplexed.
In the rare sighting, about 300 alligators gathered in a boat basin between Stephen C. Foster State Park and Billy’s Lake within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
The reptiles began congregating in the basin on the morning of July 26 and had dispersed by the following morning, according to officials with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.
Pictures of the congregation at night show the eyes of hundreds of alligators peering through the darkness and casting an eerie glow.
This phenomenon involves a part of the alligator’s eye known as the tapetum lucidum, officials noted. The tapetum lucidum reflects light into photoreceptors in the eye, giving alligators the ability to see in the dark.
If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because the tapetum lucidum can also be found in the eyes of cats, which are also capable of seeing in low light conditions.
Why the alligators congregated
The alligator congregation this summer was a curious phenomenon, as it was atypical of how the animals behave.
"They are primarily solitary," said Mark Hoog, Ecology Lab Research Staff at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. Hoog saw the recent alligator congregation first-hand.
"They generally don't hang out in large numbers like that, except around mating season, when the males begin to court the females in certain areas," he noted.
Hoog said that congregations like the one he witnessed only occur about once a year.
FILE: An alligator suns on a log in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. (Larry A. Woodward / USFWS / FOX Weather)
While more research needs to be done to determine why the alligators congregated, Hoog said a few theories involving food, water level and temperature could help provide an explanation.
One theory states that food, such as a large number of fish, may have attracted the alligators to the basin, where they were spotted feeding in the morning.
However, officials noted that little feeding occurred throughout the day.
Another theory involves water level and temperature. During that roughly 24-hour congregation, the alligators remained in the cooler waters near the bottom of the basin during the hottest part of the day, and only came up to the surface for air and when the air temperature cooled off.
An aerial view of a water trail at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. (Michael Lusk / USFWS / FOX Weather)
However, nearby Billy's Lake is much deeper than the boat basin, and yet the alligators remained in the basin, officials said. Additionally, the alligators could have congregated in the cooler waters in forested areas of the park, but instead chose the basin.
While theories about the congregation abound, Hoog confirmed that the alligators did not gather because of overpopulation. He noted that the animals do not usually come together in the numbers recently seen in the boat basin.
‘Fascinating element of biology’
FILE: An alligator peers above the water's surface in the Okefenokee Swamp. (Larry A. Woodward / USFWS / FOX Weather)
Although the congregation remains an enigma for scientists, for Hoog, it presents an opportunity to share information about alligators with the public and get people excited about the animals.
"Being able to share that with the public is pretty cool because we like to think, as humans, ‘Oh, we’ve got it all figured out,' but really, the more we learn, the more questions we have in a lot of aspects of science," he said.
For Kimberly Andrews, Coastal Ecology Specialist with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, talking about the congregation with the public can help dispel misperceptions about the animals.
"It's really this fascinating element of biology that adds to the charisma and the wonderment for these animals that we still even carry as researchers that specialize in them," Andrews said.
To stay up-to-date on information about the alligator congregation and other discoveries about alligators, follow the UGA Coastal Ecology Lab on Facebook.