It’s mating season! 12-foot alligator takes a stroll across Hilton Head bike path
Did that giant rock just... move?
That was what Tanya Miller thought when she and her golden retriever/Labrador mix, Shiloh, were on a walk Wednesday morning in Shipyard on Hilton Head Island. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large shadow move.
“I saw this big black thing stand up,” she said. “I thought it was a rock.”
But it wasn’t a rock. It was a 12-foot-long alligator sunning itself on the banks of the nearby lagoon.
Miller, 27, was on a bike; Shiloh, 2, was running next to her. She accidentally dropped Shiloh’s remote control for his collar, which she uses to control him on bike rides without a leash.
When she left her bike near the Misty Cove in Shipyard and walked back to pick up the remote, the alligator started to move.
Shiloh and Miller took off running in the opposite direction.
She passed people who asked “what are you running from?” And then they saw the gator and took off with her.
Miller videotaped the gator’s crossing of the bike path moments later from a safe distance. She and Shiloh made it across the street with no injuries.
“I’m used to seeing maybe one on a bike ride,” Miller said. “This morning we saw probably 12 gators.”
Miller, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, has lived on Hilton Head Island for over a month with her roommate and Shiloh.
Alligator mating season on Hilton Head
Miller’s gator sighting isn’t the first on Hilton Head Island this week, or even on Wednesday.
Alligators are extremely active on the island and elsewhere during mating season, which begins in April, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Females build nests of soil, vegetation and debris, and male gators travel from lagoon to lagoon to court females.
Mating season runs from early April until early June, the wildlife commission reports.
The alligators you see on the move for mating purposes will be large.
“Nearly all alligators become sexually mature by the time they reach approximately 7 feet in length, although females can reach maturity at 6 feet,” according to the conservation commission. “A female may require 10-15 years and a male 8-12 years to reach these lengths.”
Alligators are often seen basking in the sun near the edges of lagoons on Hilton Head. The animals are ectothermic, meaning they rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature.
Alligator safety
Here are some tips for alligator mating season:
- Scan the edges of lagoons for gator activity: Steer clear, no matter how big the alligator.
- Never, ever feed an alligator: Alligators are more likely to approach people if they’ve been fed before, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
- Remember that while alligators are mostly freshwater animals, they can survive in salt or brackish water for several hours or even days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 5:09 PM with the headline "It’s mating season! 12-foot alligator takes a stroll across Hilton Head bike path."
