I'm really-really glad our ancestors decided to emigrate to Illinois vs Tx/La!!

Or, let me ask, have alligators always been native to your part of the country? Or, is it like deer & coyotes for us in IL? I can still remember seeing my first deer in a field 50 yrs ago. Coyotes & other weird things (like turkey buzzards) have also appeared within recent years. Maybe alligators weren't in your country when your ancestors thought it looked like a nice place.