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Are there alligators in Alabama?

Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.

On this page
  1. The answer
  2. Where in the US
  3. Lookalikes
  4. Official advice
  5. Sources

Yes.

The American alligator is the only alligator species in Alabama and is found statewide.

Outdoor Alabama: “Alligators are found statewide in Alabama.” Source

How we answer questions

Where the American alligator lives in the US

Texas: on an official sourceGeorgia: on an official sourceTennessee: on an official sourceLouisiana: on an official sourceFlorida: on an official sourceArkansas: on an official sourceNorth Carolina: on an official sourceOklahoma: on an official sourceSouth Carolina: on an official sourceAlabama: on an official source
Official presence. 10 states where a state list or official source names it. Gray means no official record in our data, not that it is absent.
  • Native or listed
  • Nonnative or not established
  • No official record in our data
Texas: 1,576 recordsGeorgia: 509 recordsLouisiana: 804 recordsNew York: 1 recordFlorida: 5,112 recordsOhio: 1 recordArkansas: 25 recordsMississippi: 122 recordsNorth Carolina: 33 recordsOklahoma: 5 recordsSouth Carolina: 1,114 recordsAlabama: 88 records
Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 12 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+

American alligator: identification, range and danger

What else it could be

  • American crocodile
    Photo: Dennis Vollmar · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

    American crocodile

    Crocodile: lighter grayish-green skin, narrow tapered triangular snout, fourth lower tooth visible with the mouth closed, and mostly coastal brackish or salt water in south Florida. Alligator: darker, broad rounded snout, mostly fresh water.

  • Spectacled caiman
    Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

    Spectacled caiman

    USGS: the common (spectacled) caiman's snout is not as broad and round as the American alligator's, and unlike the alligator it has a unique bony ridge in front of and between the eyes.

What official sources advise

Other questions about Alabama

Sources

  1. Living with Alligators. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (4)
    “Alligators are found statewide in Alabama.”
    “State law prohibits killing, harassing, or possessing alligators. Handling even small alligators can result in injury.”
    “Feeding an alligator is dangerous and illegal.”
    “Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.”
  2. American Alligator. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Mating season for alligators is April through May and breeding occurs in open water.”