TUNICA COUNTY, Miss. — The recent death of the two-year-old boy after an alligator attack has a lot of people asking questions in the Mid-South.
Alligators were just recently spotted in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
The most recent was spotted Thursday in Arkansas.
The one spotted last month in Tunica County still hasn’t been found.
Several people claimed to have spotted on in the area along Highway 61.
Finding gators in this area isn’t uncommon.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries said alligators have been spotted in almost every county in Mississippi, mostly in Southern parts, the Delta and North Mississippi.
That’s scary to Mississippi native Angel Wilkinson.
“I heard a lot about alligators in the area. I’ve never seen one myself but where I live, they’ve actually talked about alligators living in the pond up there,” she said.
Others said they are not shocked to learn about the gator spotted in Desha County, Arkansas, South of Helena- West Helena.
WREG has Facebook video of a gator someone claims was spotted in Tunica County last month.
The Sheriff’s Department said it received calls about a gator in the southern part of the county.
Someone said they saw it near 6 Mile Lake Road, while another person spotted it near Ryals Road.
Chris Baker with the Memphis Zoo said he receives calls sometimes about the creatures .
“We do get reports south of Collierville around the state line. I don’t find it surprising that there are alligators here. This is the historic range of American alligators and they would have been fairly abundant here. The temperatures are to their liking; they are well suited to the climate,” he explained.
“I wouldn’t go near a pond that I didn’t know and I certainly wouldn’t let her go near the water just because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Wilkinson.
If you do come across one of these creatures, keep your distance and do not feed it.
The gators in Collierville were spotted in the past two years.
You’re likely to see the creatures in Southeast and Southwest, Arkansas.
