I lived down there in the 50’s and 60’s and it was the same. We swam with them, and they didn’t pay any attention to us. The only time you had to worry about them was when walking on the bank near the water. The baby gators would snap at anything, and they stayed near the shore. The momma gators made big nests on land but near the water and guarded them. Momma gators and babies were the worst. The snapping turtles weren’t much better.
“I lived down there in the 50’s and 60’s and it was the same. “
We used to go night fishing in the lakes and ponds seldom visited by humans.
We would shine the flashlight in the shores around us and see dozens of pairs of red eyes reflected. Then we would jump in to cool off.