JUPITER, Fla. — In Florida, you are more likely to get struck by lightning than become a victim of an unprovoked alligator attack, according to experts.
WPTV spoke with a wildlife expert who explained how to protect yourself and your pets during alligator encounters.
"Here in Florida, if you see a fresh body of water, a lake, a pond or a canal or stream, there's most likely going to be an alligator in it," Busch Wildlife Sanctuary Executive Director Amy Kight said.
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Kight said alligators keep still while waiting for prey.
"What they're hoping is, 'If I lay here still enough, a fish or a turtle or a bird is going to come right through my mouth, basically, and I'm going to get a meal,'" she said.
Wildlife experts said unprovoked alligator attacks are rare, but they do happen.
RELATED: Here are some notable fatal Florida alligator attacks
"Problems happen really when people start altering the perception of us to the alligator," Kight said.
Kight said the perception changes usually when humans start feeding alligators, causing the reptiles to lose natural fear. Prevention, she said, is the best way to avoid a dangerous situation.
"Staying far enough away from the water. You know, a lot of people stay 10 feet from the water. Why? Stay 15 or 20, be extra safe," she said.
In the rare circumstance that an alligator happens to get close to you, or starts moving closer, Kight said to get away quickly and not in zig zags. Gators charge forward and running in zig zags will slow you down, not the gator.
"Alligators' eyes are located kind of wide set on their head," Kight said. "So, if you're running right in front of them, that's not going to work for you."
A University of Florida attack risk publication said if attacked, fight like your life depends on it. If bitten, poke the alligator in the eyes, punch and kick it around the head. Often the alligator will open its mouth to reposition prey and that's your chance to escape.
"It's such a split-second decision," Kight said. "I don't even know that I can speak to it, because working with wildlife as long as I have, every situation is different."
When it comes to people's pets, Kight said, individuals should be extra careful, especially around water.
WPTV spoke with Charisse White who said, a few years ago, her daughter made a dangerous decision following her dog into a neighborhood pond.
"The dog went in the water, started swimming away in the pond and my daughter went after it," she said. "Thankfully, the gator wasn't there."
The best advice every wildlife expert gives is stay away from alligators.
"What we need to be aware of is leaving them alone, not feeding them and just learning that that they're in our environment," Kight said.
