Are there alligators in Mississippi?
Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.
Yes.
MDWFP estimated 32,000-38,000 alligators and about 408,000 acres of alligator habitat; Jackson County has the most habitat. The estimate comes from an undated page that refers to 2000 surveys.
MDWFP: “We recently estimated that there are 32,000-38,000 alligators and about 408,000 acres of alligator habitat in Mississippi.” Source
Where the American alligator lives in the US
- Native or listed
- Nonnative or not established
- No official record in our data
- 1–9
- 10–99
- 100–999
- 1,000+
What else it could be
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.
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.
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What official sources advise
Other questions about Mississippi
Sources
- The Recovery of the American Alligator in Mississippi. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (3)
“We recently estimated that there are 32,000-38,000 alligators and about 408,000 acres of alligator habitat in Mississippi.”
“Not only is feeding alligators dangerous, it is illegal.”
“While alligators don't generally see people as food, they are quite fond of dogs.”