Bird Watching Takes on a Whole New Meaning for Famous Dauphin Island Gator

The famous Dauphin Island gator, April 19, 2018: Photo by Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. — Thousands of bird watchers are flocking to the Alabama Gulf Coast this spring for the annual bird migration, but it’s also mating season for other species, including this fairly large American alligator [Alligator mississippiensis] that has become a tourist attraction in its own right as people come from miles around to see it up close in the small Galliard Lake near Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

While I ran across several families looking to see it on the Lake Trail, there was no visible sign of it – until I let my dog Jefferson go swimming in the lake. As soon as he got out, I saw a V shaped ripple in the water coming from across the way. Sure enough, the gator came to check out the dog to see if he might make a nice meal.

We watched for awhile and I snapped these pics.

On land alligators are awkward, but in the water they can swim very quickly using their tails. This makes it easier for them to catch prey, including birds and mammals lurking too close along the bank. American alligators can swim up to 20 mph (32.18 km/h) and run on land as fast as 11 mph (17.7 km/h), according to the San Diego Zoo.

Alligators are large reptiles, members of the order Crocodylia. The American alligator can grow up to 11.2 feet (3.4 meters) long and weigh nearly half a ton (1,000 lbs. or 454 kilograms), according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. It lives in the southern United States, ranging from North Carolina to Texas, preferring slow-moving rivers, ponds, lakes and swamps.