Most, if not every lake in Florida has one. If you are going to be doing anything in that lake, you need to think about it. They get nasty during mating season, and mommas will protect their nest like a damn pit bull. To be honest, I’ve been paddle boarding and canoeing right past them numerous times. As long as you’re giving them some space and not doing something that would put you in harms way, you should be fine. The story in the original post happened just a few minutes south of me. Probably just bad luck honestly. If they got into shallow water and went right over the gator that thing thrashing could easily capsize their canoe. These creatures are basically dinosaurs with a brain that only wants to feed and procreate. You have to show them some respect.