Every year, Florida’s alligator hunting season runs from August 15 to November 1. The state issues about 7,000 permits through a lottery system. If you get picked, you walk away with two harvest tags, part of the effort to keep the alligator population, now about 1.3 million, in check. 

Permits are in demand, too. Over 15,000 people try for them every year. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) lets hunters go after gators at any hour during the season, and each standard permit includes two CITES tags, letting you take two alligators.

Alligator Biology Trivia

Did you know that the temperature in a mother gator’s nest determines if her eggs hatch into males or females? Above 93°F you’ll get males, below 86°F and they’ll be females. 

Hatching season lines up with the start of the hunt, mid-August to early September. Just before that, in spring, the air fills with the sound of male alligators roaring and bellowing as they fight for territory and mates.

But gator mating season isn’t just noisy; it can get dangerous. Florida’s dense alligator population means a higher risk of run-ins, and sometimes those encounters turn deadly. Since 1948, the state has recorded about 500 reported alligator attacks. Of those, over 150 were minor and needed little or no medical care. Almost 350 attacks caused serious injuries. And tragically, 33 people have died, including a recent case: a woman swimming with friends in the Little Big Econ State Forest just this past summer.

Click here for more information about alligator hunting season.

The post Florida Alligator Hunting Season Opens August 15 with 7,000 Permits Issued to Manage 1.3 Million Gators appeared first on Englewood Review.