JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Seeing a monster alligator in local rivers and lakes is no surprise to those who have lived in Florida for a while, but one body of water in particular has nearly 2,000 gators at last count.
These reptiles are popping up in places they haven't been before, so News4Jax took to the water to find the gator trail and where they are showing up the most.
Until 1987, alligators were endangered, so every year, biologists with the Florida Wildlife Commission survey the waters to track the alligator population. They choose three major bodies of water in the area on which to focus.
The St. Johns River, Doctors Lake and Julington Creek all have a strong alligator population, but these bodies of water pale in comparison to the number of gators calling Guana State Park in St. Johns County home. (See interactive map at the bottom of this story to find 2013 to 2015 alligator numbers from Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties.)
"I'm out here on a daily basis fishing, and just the other day, I saw seven in a four-hour period," said Matt Chipperfield, a tour guide with North Guana Outpost.
Chipperfield said he reminds anyone venturing out onto the water that you are never really alone on the Guana River.
"You can tell how big it is by the distance between the snout and the head," he explained to News4Jax while spotting gators on the river.
While on the water with Chipperfield, News4Jax witnessed an extremely healthy alligator population. One gator, spotted just 30 yards away from was estimated to be 6 to 10 feet long. And that wasn't the only one. News4Jax saw plenty of them swimming slowly, lazily waiting and watching for the right moment to strike at their natural prey.
"On a daily basis, we'll see that out there, a little more now, because they just went through mating season, and the females are nesting. You might see a little more activity than usual," Chipperfield said.
When FWC biologists surveyed Guana State Park last year, they counted 272 alligators. They estimated that is only 14 percent of the park's total gator population -- meaning an estimated 1,942 alligators call Guana State Park their home. The News4JAx drone captured video of some of these gators.
"Seeing these alligators is really something to marvel. They are the dinosaur of the swamp," Chipperfield said. "They've earned the right to be here. Thousands of years of evolution, they are the apex predator and they deserve the respect for that."
In the St. Johns River, from the Buckman Bridge to the Fuller Warren Bridge, biologists counted 108 alligators while conducting their study, only 14 percent of the estimated population. So, there's really an estimated 771 alligators actually living within a 13-mile area.
At Doctors Lake in Clay County along the 11 miles surveyed, FWC estimated 70 alligators live in those waters. The numbers are nearly identical in Julington Creek, from Highway 13 to Old St. Augustine Road.
FWC does these annual alligator surveys to figure out the impact those countywide alligator hunts are having on the population. (Learn more about legal alligator hunting in Florida.)
"We're going to shine a spotlight on them, and we can see the reflection of their eyes," said FWC biologists Arnold Brunell and Kyle Mader while conducting a survey this year in Lake Apopka in Central Florida. "There are a fair number of alligators out here, yes."
The biologists wrangle gators with their bare hands, and after taping the snout, it's time for them to dive into their paperwork. They collect blood and mercury levels to see how healthy are the gator. While some are weighed, measured and tagged, all are returned to the wild.
News4Jax also went on the gator trail with others who know North Florida waters well, who said they're noticing another phenomenon of alligators showing up frequently in places where they've rarely been seen before, like beaches.
"I was amazed the first time my customer spotted an alligator at the mouth of the ocean. I've been coming out here for years," said Josh Schrutt, with Crazy Fish Airboat Tours.
Alligators are also being spotted on the St Johns River at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean, about a mile away from the nearest marsh. Locals said they are seeing gators there weekly.
Schrutt said unusually high tides are washing gators out of the marshes and into the Atlantic Ocean, which is understandably a frightening sight for anyone on the beach.
Schrutt told News4Jax recent construction along the Intracoastal is playing a part in displacing some of them.
"They were here before we were," said Schrutt. "We are encroaching on their habitat along the shorelines. Where they like to sun themselves, now there's a house there. Where does the alligator go?"
Licensed nuisance alligator trapper Bob Shumaker gets called by FWC to help with problem gators that are reported in his area.
"They've just been popping up lately, showing up when people are moving in," Shumaker said.
He said he has pulled in some monster alligators in his career. Shumaker recently captured a huge gator off Dunn and Pulaski roads on Jacksonville's Northside.
"The biggest one we've gotten was 12-foot-4, almost 800 pounds. He was pretty good size. We had to go in with a front end loader to pick him up," he told News4Jax.
Shumaker said the biggest mistake the public makes is feeding an alligator. That encourages the gator to look to humans for food.
Florida law prohibits feeding, harassing, possessing alligators or killing them without a state permit. People can report nuisance alligators to FWC by calling 866-FWC-GATOR (392-4286). (Learn more about what to do about nuisance alligators.)
Shumaker said construction near their natural habitat can cause these reptiles to change their behavior.
"There's a lot of people moving in right now, and the high tides are moving out," he said. "It's just people are seeing them, being more aware after what happened in Orlando."
As menacing as alligators look, there haven’t been many deadly attacks. The death of a toddler at Disney World in Orlando last month was the 24th fatal alligator attack in Florida over the past 43 years.
READ UPDATE: 2-year-old killed by alligator at Disney World resort
Between 1948 and 2015, there were 126 minor attacks and 257 major attacks, which resulted in serious injury to the victim but not death. It's also important to note that there has never been an alligator attack on a person at Guana State Park. Instead, according to the Eco Tour guide, there is a healthy respect for their environment that truly exists.
FWC said if an alligator bites someone, the best thing they can do is fight back, making as much noise and commotion as possible. Hitting or kicking the alligator or poking it in its eyes may cause it to release its grip.
When alligators seize prey they cannot easily overpower, they will often let go and retreat. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. Therefore, swim only during daylight hours.
Also, FWC warned pet owners not to allow their pets to swim, exercise or drink in or near waters that may contain alligators or in designated swimming areas with humans.
Dogs are more susceptible to being bitten than humans, because dogs resemble the natural prey of alligators. The sound of dogs barking and playing may draw an alligator to the area.
Biologists told News4Jax, regardless where alligators populate, they are vital to the health of Florida's ecosystem. They said a healthy gator population means healthy lakes and rivers.
WATCH: Take an aerial tour of Guana State Park in St. Johns County
DOWNLOAD: Florida Fish and Wildlife’s “Guide to Living with Alligators”
INTERACTIVE MAP: 2013 to 2015 Florida Wildlife Commission survey data of alligators counted in Clay, Duval and St. Johns Counties. FWC says the alligators counted during their surveys represent 14 percent of the actual population within a specified body of water.