Growling gators put on ‘incredible’ show in Port Royal. Listen to what witnesses heard
Big heads and broad snouts poked from the green duck weed, followed by a back-and-forth of growling so intense it caused ripples on the surface of the Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal.
Visitors standing just a few feet away on a boardwalk that winds through the wetlands couldn’t believe what they were seeing: An alligator courtship dance as old as time, but rarely seen from this close.
“I’ll never see it again,” said Scot Clark, who took video of the stunning mating spectacle that took place in broad daylight at the popular Port Royal attraction. “It was incredible.”
Clark was among four lucky board members of the Friends of Cypress Wetlands, a not-for-profit that promotes and protects the wetlands, who were on hand when the gators unexpectedly started vocalizing at about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday in front of crowd of visitors.
A large male and smaller female poked their heads and tails out of the water and arched their backs before emitting a low-frequency bellow across the wetlands where the squawks of nesting birds usually dominate.
A third alligator about 100 feet away joined in. “There were three alligators that were communicating,” Clark said.
A group of about 50 kindergartners from Broad River Elementary School in Beaufort also witnessed the unique wildlife exhibition.
“At one point they said, ‘It’s like they’re hungry, their tummies are growling,’ to put it in a kindergarten’s perspective,” said Jill Moore of Moore2Life, which leads tours of Cypress Wetlands.
Moore’s colleague, Mollie Kinard, was leading the kindergarten group at the time. Moore was leading another tour in different part of the wetlands and caught the tail end.
“It’s an amazing thing to see,” Moore said. “Their head and tails raise up, and you actually see the water vibrate almost like it’s boiling before you hear the noise.”
As of Sunday, posts on the Friends of Cypress Wetlands Facebook page had prompted 424 shares and 123 comments.
“How fortunate,” one person associated with the school children tour could be heard saying as the gators growled and glided through the green duck week coating the surface of the wetland. “On a field trip?”
Alligators are mating this time of year. During the spring courtship, they emit deep growls known as bellows that send ripples across the water and shivers down the spines of those within earshot.
But the public cavorting by the usually stealthy ambush predators isn’t often seen, even if the unmistakable bellows are heard, especially during the middle of the day, Moore said. The gators tend to be more active in the mornings or at night, she said, during mating season.
“A lot of times people hear it and aren’t sure what it is,” Moore said.
Alligators do not have vocal cords, so the bellowing is a guttural sound and produced when they lift their head and tail out of the water and force air out through their lungs, creating low-frequency vibrations, according to Pro Sound Effects. The technique is sometimes called “water dancing” because it makes the water “dance” and water droplets appear to bounce off their backs.
It’s used by males and females in the spring to attract a mate. Males also bellow to ward off competitors from their territory.
The chances of seeing alligators displaying the behavior is low, Moore says, and about the same as witnessing dolphins strand feeding. That’s when dolphins herd fish to the shore and then hoist themselves onto land to feed, briefly stranding themselves before wiggling back into the water.
In this instance, the alligator show occurred between 11:30 a.m. and noon when the boardwalk was teeming with visitors.
“To be there just at this window is really special,” Moore said.
“Dating and mating” will continue through this month, she said. The females will watch over the eggs, and hatchlings will appear at the end of summer.
The Cypress Wetlands, Moore notes, does not see many alligator hatchlings because it does not have much dry, raised grassy areas needed for nesting, Moore said. Predators, including alligators, are a problem, too.
When the bellowing was over, the female was seen swimming away. The male was following.
“We would hope that it was a successful courtship,” Moore said.
This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 2:29 PM.
