How many alligators are in this photo from Georgia swamp? Count the glowing eyes
Alligators can grow to 14 feet, but a photo taken in one of Georgia’s murky swamps shows the reptiles are invisible when it suits them.
The black-and-white image was shared on Facebook by the state’s Coastal Ecology Lab, which challenged followers to figure out how many gators were hiding in the dark. It was a mom and her young, the lab added.
One clue was offered: The dots of light in the photo were their eyes.
“We have previously talked about how well alligators blend into their surroundings in the swamp, but that camouflage is taken to a whole new level when the sun goes down,” the lab wrote.
“The only way that one can spot an alligator at night is by looking for their #eyeshine. Eyeshine is caused when a light bounces off ... cells located in the retina. ... When we shine a flashlight at an alligator, their eye shines red like in the photo below. Now, even with eyeshine it can still be difficult to spot alligators as you have to be at just the right angle to get the reflection.”
Commenters on Facebook immediately began trying to guess, tossing out numbers as low as 14 and as high as 22.
The lab admitted it wasn’t “100% sure how many alligators are in this photo,” but its best guess was 21. A photo circling their little beady eyes was shared on Facebook this week as proof.
The largest alligator in the photo was identified as Sally, and she has been tracked by the lab since at least 2017, according to a Sally the Alligator Twitter page. She last laid eggs on July 13, officials said this week.
Sally is part of an alligator community Georgia’s Coastal Ecology is studying in the Okefenokee Swamp, “a 438,000-acre, shallow, peat-filled, freshwater wetland straddling the Georgia-Florida state line.”
Lab officials reported in December that the biggest alligator in the study is 11 feet, 5 inches and weighs more than 400 pounds.
It is estimated the swamp is home to 10,000 to 13,000 alligators, according to Sherpa Guides.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 2:00 PM with the headline "How many alligators are in this photo from Georgia swamp? Count the glowing eyes."