Due to the attention from Alligator Alcatraz, an ICE detention center in the Florida Everglades, many may be wondering about the gator population here.
Though Florida is synonymous with alligators, the Sunshine State is home to crocodiles, too. And the area where the two reptiles can co-exist together is in the Everglades, now home to Alligator Alcatraz.
Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, had a special visitor July 1 − President Donald Trump. It marked the first visit back to his home state in two months.
Below is information about alligators and crocodiles in Florida and what to know about Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades.
What is Alligator Alcatraz in Florida? Where is Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades?
What is Alligator Alcatraz? It’s an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and State Attorney General James Uthmeier.
On June 19 on social media, Uthmeier suggested a 39-square-mile airport facility in the Everglades with a 10,500-foot runway could be easily converted into a temporary immigrant detention center to aid in Florida’s efforts to locate and deport “criminal aliens.”
Uthmeier posted on X that he called it “Alligator Alcatraz.”
However, not everyone is on board with Alligator Alcatraz, located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida. Since ground broke at transforming the lone airport strip into the ICE detention center, environmental groups protested against Alligator Alcatraz.
The ICE detention center hosted VIP guests for its opening day, including President Donald Trump.
Florida is home to 1.3 million alligators. But how many crocodiles live in Florida?
If you live in Florida, you likely know you have to coexist with alligators. So long as you keep your distance and never feed one if it crosses your path, you should be fine.
Home to 1.3 million alligators and now Alligator Alcatraz, an ICE detention center in the Everglades, Florida’s pretty synonymous with the reptile. Sometimes people mistake the similar-looking Florida crocodile for an American alligator.
Crocodiles have distinct differences, however, and many have made their home in the Sunshine State.
According to an April 2025 animal blog post on A-Z Animals, the majority of crocodiles are “found within Everglades National Park, mainly throughout the coastal, brackish, and saltwater regions of the park.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducts an alligator census in Florida, but it does not “conduct population surveys on American crocodiles and cannot provide additional information on where they are located within the park,” the site states.
A-Z Animals cited a study that points to “water in the Flamingo to Cape Sable area of the Everglades National Park” with having the “highest density of crocodiles in Florida,” particularly Buttonwood Canal.
How many alligators are in the Florida Everglades?
Each year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission takes a census of 50 alligator-infested places in Florida to gauge how many alligators are living in the state. The FWC says it enlists the help of scientists and biologists who go out on airboats at night to count how many glowing sets of red eyes they see floating on the water.
Counting every gator is not possible, so the exact count and some math magic are used to estimate what the total population likely is for some lakes.
According to the FWC, “Alligators occur in all 67 counties in Florida and can be found in practically all fresh and brackish water bodies and occasionally in salt water. Although exact population figures are not known, Florida has a healthy and stable population of about 1.3 million alligators of every size. This population estimate is based on an estimated 6.7 million acres of suitable habitat.”
The FWC does not list a total number for alligators living in the Florida Everglades.
However, a December 2024 report on islands.com states, the Florida Everglades is home to 200,000 alligators, specifically, Everglades National Park: “The park, spanning 1.5-million acres, is a vast subtropical eco-system that includes swamps, wetlands, and mangrove forests that form the only place where you can see wild alligators and crocodiles in one spot.”
Contributing: Lianna Norman, USA TODAY Network-Florida
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Alligator Alcatraz: Crocodiles live near ICE detention center in Florida Everglades, too
Reporting by Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Naples Daily News
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