Here’s when you’ll start seeing alligators in MS again in 2026. It may be sooner than you think
The more than 30,000 alligators in Mississippi seemingly disappear during the colder months — but they don’t go far, according to wildlife experts.
Once the weather cools, the cold-blooded reptiles reduce their activity to keep warm, hiding in “gator holes” — hollows in the ground along a waterway that they create for themselves, according to experts at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.
In fact, alligators actually can’t digest their food after the temperature drops below 70 degrees, so they go into a process called brumation, according to a Sept. 4 Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Facebook post.
Similar to hibernation, brumation is a period of dormancy, just slightly less intense, experts at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute said.
So, when can Mississippians expect to see alligators again?
Brumation typically lasts four to five months, from mid-October through mid-March, according to the MDWFP.
Occasionally, you can catch an alligator soaking up the sun on a warmer winter day, but it’s not likely that you will see one in Mississippi until early March when the weather rises to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit or more, experts said.
Peak temperatures for Mississippi gator activity is during their mating months between April and June.
When is alligator hunting season in Mississippi?
In Mississippi, alligator hunting season begins in late August and goes through early September.
