Just to add my $.02. As has been pointed out, alligators are not
crocodiles, and for the most part crocodiles are reputed to have a much
meaner disposition. I think about the only place in the world that you can
even find alligators and crocodiles together is in the very tip of south
Florida, and even then your chances of coming across a crocodile aren't all
that good. I painted eyeballs on the front of my kayak, and after thinking
about it decided I might have made a terrible mistake. I live in central
Florida now, go kayaking a lot here, and thought (belatedly) that I might
frighten some critters. That certainly hasn't been my experience. I guess
that alligators and other critters that I might get scared of, see me as
something too big to eat, but then I am obviously not one of *them*, nor do
I look like anything else they have seen. Critters keep their distance
from me, as I think they may be afraid I might eat them, but they don't
flee in terror, neither do they associate me with food or a threat. I
don't go poking alligators with a stick, and I try to give them a pretty
wide berth, but I am nowhere near as paranoid about them as I first was. I
worry about biting flies a *whole* lot more now.

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups