By Biff and Susan Andrews

Last year in this space, we wrote of invasive species and said, blithely, that alligators were not one to fear. Silly us.

Shortly thereafter, a lady traveling on Rout 64 west of Manteo, N.C., collided with a 12-foot specimen. That’s a large gator. Apparently he was well known to the locals. Been there for years.

There’s a reason why the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge is named as it is, and it’s not the red wolves.

Three days ago a six-foot alligator was seen swimming in the surf at Pawley’s Island in South Carolina, reminding us that a gator was spotted swimming in Oregon Inlet two months ago. Are they moving north?

Sorry, climate-change deniers. The alligators which have been living happily just to our south are destined to move north. They’ll come up the canals to the Dismal Swamp. It’s gonna happen. It’s gotta happen.

How close are they now, you may ask? The answer depends upon whom you believe. There is definitely a resident breeding group seven miles south of the Virginia line in Merchant’s Mill State Park. They are well documented and have been there for a while. The population is five or seven, depending on what you read.

There are also reported sightings in the Carolina portion of the Dismal Swamp, about 10 miles south of the line.

We are not talking about escaped pets here. Those exist everywhere — yes, even in the sewers of New York City. What we are talking about here are resident wild populations that have migrated north, like the occasional manatees we see each summer.

Only the alligators stay. They can actually survive frozen in ice for a while if most of their body is well down in warmer water or mud and their noses out in the air.

May, June and July have been setting record temperatures for individual days and entire months. Surely more and more gators will move north under these conditions. And the Dismal Swamp, the perfect habitat, awaits them.

Nor would this be without precedent. A biology teacher friend says a professor of his at ODU spoke of nine individuals (or pairs?) spotted and documented in the Swamp during the 1930s. If they’ve been here before, they’ll be here again.

Yes, Virginia, there is climate change. Yes, our local climate is growing warmer. Yes, local habitats are more suitable for alligators.

I hereby predict that within three years an adult alligator will be spotted in Deep Creek, if not the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.

And you were worried about sharks….

Susan and Bradford “Biff” Andrews are retired teachers and master naturalists who have been outdoor people all their lives, exploring and enjoying the woods, swamps, rivers and beaches throughout the region for many years. Email them at b.andrews22@live.com.