Photo courtesy N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

From the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

-- The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding residents and visitors that feeding alligators is not only dangerous, but also illegal.

As the weather warms, Wildlife officials receive more reports of people seeing – and feeding – alligators. The American Alligator is listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and, under North Carolina law, it is illegal to feed them in the wild.

In addition, feeding these animals can cause them to lose their fear of people, making them more likely to approach and possibly attack. 

For more information on the American Alligator, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s fact sheet. For information on threatened and endangered species in North Carolina, visit the protected species pdf.