The Mama Alligator Watch

March 2, 2026
Ken Schultz

Wildlife Cam Report 3:

Watching a Large Female Alligator

Protecting Her Nest & Young

For about five weeks Lemon Creek Wildlflower Preserve Manager Chad Lyman and I set up a motion-sensing camera to spy on a particular alligator at one of the preserve’s ponds. Chad had seen this gator protecting a brood of young at a pond-side nesting site. At one point he observed twelve small alligators in the nest.

We set up a camera about 40 feet away from the nest site but looking directly at it. We didn’t want to disturb the site or mama gator, or put ourselves in danger, by getting any nearer or putting the camera nearby on the same bank.

The alligator had chosen an excellent nest site along an undercut bank that was shaded and hard to locate in a casual manner. Unfortunately our setup meant that we had to face the camera east, resulting in unusable morning images due to direct sun. The flip side of the location was that afternoon images with over-the-shoulder lighting would be better.

Due to the distance, wider field of view, and the fact that the camera doesn’t have zoom capability, we knew that we were unlikely to get images of the young alligators. Using 10-power binoculars I once saw eight juveniles, estimated at 15 to 18 inches long, in the nest site. But on most occasions I couldn’t discern any youngsters.

We put the camera in photo-only mode (no videos) and expected some problems from wind, causing moving branches, limbs, and palm fronds to set the camera sensor off. Although not as much as actually happened. During the time that the camera was in place, numerous periods of strong sustained wind resulted in capturing over 6,500 images. Probably 6,460 were worthless.

But we did get some good images of a large female alligator watching and protecting her nest. Some of these are here and you can tell from the camera signature the date and time they were taken (NOTE: due to operator error, a few images mistakenly have a 2025 date on them; those should say February 2026). These images have not be edited, with the exception of the lead photo at top, which was cropped and slightly enlarged for the sake of providing a closer view here. Like the others, it was taken in February 2026.

Only once were there a few images of young gators on the sand near the nest, but you can’t see it clearly. I know this to be the case because when you look at successive images from a fixed framing area you can see what changes from one image to the next by going back and forth like you were looking at an old cartoon reel. You can see a change, and that change was the presence of two or three juveniles on the sand where before (and after) the sand was vacant.

Mostly mama gator was photographed watching the nest site, head pointed toward it, while in the water. Sometimes it lay fully on the bank as if forming a protective barrier for the nest. She showed up in our images most often in the afternoon, which, perhaps not coincidentally, coincides with daily warmth periods. On a couple of occasions she was in the water by the nest when we came to check the camera and retrieve photos. Our presence never moved her.

The batteries ran out in the last week of February and we re-deployed the camera elsewhere. How many juveniles remain in the nest is unknown. Mama, who we estimate as being at least 8 feet long, was still watching then, and looks very healthy.

Please note:

Trail cam images are the property of the photographers and Lemon Bay Conservancy, and may not be copied or re-used without permission.
Our wildlife trail cameras are motion-sensitive and set to take still images or videos. They’re situated in off-trail locations not likely to be traversed by preserve visitors. If you happen upon a wildlife trail camera, please do not disturb it or the area being photographed.
This project has been approved by the Directors of Lemon Bay Conservancy to help learn more about wildlife matters at Wildflower Preserve, and to engage LBC members by publishing images of wildlife at the preserve. Individuals are not permitted to set up their own motion-sensing trail cameras.