How many alligators are in Florida? The state once counted

The conventional wisdom in Florida is that if you see a body of water, assume there is a gator in it. After all, there are an estimated 1.3 million of them.But some bodies of water have more than others — quite a few more.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission used to take an alligator census of up to 100 bodies of water around Florida. The last census was in 2023.[PINIT! Are there gators where you live? Share your photos!]The census was an estimate. As you can imagine, counting alligators is no easy task, let alone counting them accurately.To do so, researchers drove a boat at night along the shores of each body of water. Alligators are most active at night, and the boat’s spotlight made the gators’ eyes shine red, making it easier to count them.FWC included a standard error that varies depending on the body of water.It should surprise no one that Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest lake, also has the most gators, according to the most recent data obtained by News 6 thro