gators, pshaw. I canoed around gators all the time when I lived in Louisiana. The worst that ever happened was a pissy water moccasin deciding to crawl in the boat and having a hell of a time lifting it out with the paddle.

Also the alligator gars scare the pants off me every time I spooked one of the big ones by getting too close, big splash and swirl as they dove to the bottom of the water.

I never had any actual problems with alligators. As long as you're not walking a small yapping puppy near the water's edge, they leave people well enough alone.