I’m planning a kayaking trip through Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico - Anyway back to the question…
Is this a major safety issue? Would is pose as a threat if I am camping along the river? What should you do if you did encounter one?
Ok, I don’t have stats for that area, but here in Florida, in the past 50 years or so, alligators have been responsible for about 26 human fatalities… compare that with dogs, which kill more people every year, and really, alligators aren’t too much of a threat at all…
What time of year do you plan on going? Just to be on the safe side, I would avoid late March through May, due to courtship and territorial issues… most "attacks" on canoes and kayaks are misunderstandings… gator is hanging out on the bank, paddler comes around a corner too close, scares the gator, gator makes a break for deeper water and bumps the bottom of the boat on it’s way, ~however~ during that time of year, all a gator cares about is the fact that there is something else as long (or longer) than it "swimming" through it’s turf, when real attacks on kayaks or other small craft do occur, they are usually during that time frame. (early this year an 11 footer attacked a kayak on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge… luckily it was shallow water and the gator was more concerned with the kayak than anything else)
Fed alligators pose a special problem… they don’t recognize the specific people who feed them, they just recognize the basic shape… I know of several boat ramps here in Florida that have had trouble due to people feeding alligators (or "improperly disposing of fish cleanings") where every small boat that was launched would be bumped by large alligators… again, I don’t know the stats up that way, but I’m sure it’s similar… 95% of attacks by alligators here in Florida link back to the gator being fed.
My suggestions? Avoid being out on the water at dawn and dusk… alligators are crepuscular, most of their hunting takes place during these times.
As inviting as it may be, don’t decide to go swimming if it’s not in a designated swimming area… You’re in their turf, the very few "unprovoked" fatal attacks here in Florida have been on people swimming in remote areas and the attacks were all by extremely large alligators.
Stay back from overgrown shorelines… just because most "attacks" on kayaks are bump and runs, doesn’t mean that some surly gator won’t wreck your ‘yak any time of year… if there’s a bunch of cover, assume there’s an alligator, and give it plenty of room so it knows you’re not a threat… try not to make them feel trapped (remember, alligators are more comfortable and feel safer in the water than out of the water.)
Don’t feed them… this includes "incidental feeding" If you’re catching fish for shore lunch, don’t throw your cleanings back in the water… catch a trash fish? Treat it like it’s a game fish and let it regain it’s strength after a fight and swim off on it’s own rather than just tossing it back… tired injured fish that have been caught and released are an easy meal for alligators, and they ~do~ know what a person with a fishing pole means.
Pick as open of a bank as you can find when going in to camp… cattails and other clumps of vegetation are ambush points for alligators… you want to be able to see as much of the shoreline as you can, and not that I think an alligator would come up into your campsite and bust into your tent to get you, but set up camp as far back from the water as possible…
While alligators deserve every scrap of respect you can give them, they aren’t out to get anyone… however, if you do find yourself in an unlucky position, just remember that people who don’t fight back don’t get loose (not promising that everyone who fights back does get loose, but if you don’t try, you’ve got no chance)… gator bumps your ‘yak? Bump him back with your paddle if it’s not a bump and run… heck, drop your anchor on his head if he gives you a chance and you need to… there aren’t many soft spots on these animals, but if you’re in the position where you need to use them, you need to know them… the fleshy spot where their nostrils are, eyes, and if you’re unlucky enough to be in a position to take advantage of it the glottis (the flap at the back of the mouth that keeps the water out if they open their mouth underwater)… you find your hand in a gator’s mouth, you grab for whatever you can get inside there if you’ve got any movement in your hand anymore.
Something else that I’m reminded of from when I was working on the tour boat… had a family from Louisiana on and they were commenting on how much bolder alligators here in Florida are than they are up that way… Louisiana has a much more extensive public hunt than Florida does, and alligators that way know that people are bad news… here in Florida people are more likely to feed them than shoot them, so ours are more…. "friendly" (please note the quotation marks… they’re not really friendly at all…)
Main thing is just to give them room if at all possible.
Have fun, and wear a PFD.