[Brad from Tennessee]

I grew up in Central Florida in the 1950's and '60's. We used to swim in lakes with alligators 30 feet away from us. You would see their eyes and nose in the water. They never bothered us and we never had any fear of them. In those days there was an industry in alligator hides and the population stayed down. Gators normally are scavengers and eat dead fish and animals. If the meat isn't rotten enough they bury it in the mud or hide it in a nest until it cures. In the '70's, the human population grew and at the same time they declared gators endangered. Alligators began to multiple. Their sources of food got stretched and they began coming out of the lakes killing dogs and cats. Then they began attacking people.

[Stoat]

....Then they began attacking people.

I have also heard that one reason gators attack is that they have been fed by the locals who think that they are like a stylish pet.  The gators become accustomed to being near and around people and begin to consider them as a valid entree item, because they associate food with them.

I'm sure that this may only be one small part of the reason though and your points are well taken.
 

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I grew up in Central Florida in the 1950's and '60's. We used to swim in lakes with alligators 30 feet away from us.

I remember those days. I visited my grandparents living in Lake Wales every summer of my childhood. In fact, I learned how to swim in Lake Wales and Lake Walk-in-the-Water.

[TaxRelief]

The only problem with your "food shortage" theory is that alligators will go up to a year without eating.

[jwparkerjr]

I was raised in Okeechobee in the mid-50's and your recollections about alligators is right-on. We lived on a large cattle ranch, with lots of creeks and lakes and seldom saw an alligator. Gators in those days knew to stay away from humans or risk becoming belts, purses or cowboy boots and a featured item on the menu of some little diner in a small town. Tastes like chicken.

[Beckwith]

Then they began attacking people.

A lot of that comes from people feeding alligators when they're small and "cute." The gators lose their fear of humans and begin to see them as a food source.