ST. JOHNS COUNTY – See you later, alligator!
People are being reminded to be safe while kayaking, boating and enjoying the Matanzas River after a St. Johns County woman spotted an alligator last week.
Sarah Maguire Marston tells News4Jax she was boating with her husband and friends going south in the Matanzas River. She said they dropped their anchor near Fort Matanzas, on the western branch of the river, when they saw the alligator. She believes it was 7-feet long.
"We saw something in the water, and our friend jokingly said it was an alligator, thinking it really was a log floating in the water, Sarah said. "It disappeared, and we kept an eye on the area, about 20 minutes later it resurfaced. It’s stayed up for about a minute, and then sank to the bottom again."
The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine confirmed it is an alligator, even though it appears to be a crocodile.
A graphic was made to show exactly where it was spotted.
"The gray marker is where we spotted it. It was about 7 feet, hanging out at the bottom of the river and coming up about every 20-30 minutes. We saw it 4 times. It did not even seem to notice us on the beach, or the boats in the water."
NOAA says alligators are primarily freshwater animals and they do not live in the ocean.
"While alligators can tolerate salt water for a few hours or even days, they are primarily freshwater animals, living in swampy areas, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds."
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