DURANT, Okla. (KXII) – Oklahoma sits at the northern edge of the American alligator\u2019s range, and a small but established population in the state\u2019s southeastern corner is under pressure from nest predation and extreme weather, according to a researcher tracking the animals.<\/p>\n
Jake Pruett, associate professor and biology chair at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, said his team has tagged more than 230 American alligators as part of a long-term monitoring effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor alligators, we\u2019re about as north as they get, especially on the west end of their range,\u201d Pruett said.<\/p>\n
Only a few alligators are found in Bryan and Choctaw counties. McCurtain County holds the largest concentration \u2014 and the only confirmed breeding population in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe county that had the most was McCurtain County,\u201d Pruett said. \u201cYou look around and it feels like a Louisiana swamp and it\u2019s the perfect alligator habitat and because that\u2019s where we know we have a breeding population.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a population this small, nest predation poses a significant setback. Many hatchlings never make it out of the nest.<\/p>\n
Pruett identified raccoons as the primary threat to alligator eggs in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaccoons decimate the nests. And once they find a nest, they come back until pretty much every egg is consumed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pruett said that in one year, raccoons wiped out every nest his team found, resulting in no new hatchlings the following season.<\/p>\n
Cold weather also poses a risk. \u201cOur population is an at-risk population because it is so small. So random events like those freezes can definitely set us back,\u201d Pruett said.<\/p>\n
Alligators in Oklahoma are generally afraid of people, Pruett said. His advice: keep your distance and do not feed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you feed an alligator a few times, they\u2019re smart enough to figure that out, that association, and they\u2019ll start losing their fear of people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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