Embodied encounters between humans and gators

Abstract

Animal geographies have complicated our understanding of human/nonhuman animal relationships by positioning other animals as recipients of human culture and, more recently, by applying theories of embodiment to illustrate the co-constitution of human–animal worlds. This paper addresses human–alligator relationships in Louisiana by illustrating the history and culture of alligator hide production alongside an analysis of human–alligator encounters through tourism. Alligators have played all sorts of instrumental and symbolic roles in the Atchafalaya River Basin where populations here have been managed as a corollary to the exotic hide industry. More recently, gators have been positioned as the star attractions on swamp tours. Guides, tourists, and alligators share encounters where the nonhumans are anthropomorphized and empowered to shape human perceptions of other bodies. By jumping out of the water for food or simply allowing the tourists' gaze, alligators are positioned both as an exotic body and as a capable agent in the experience of space. Guides take part in hybridizing the two groups of actors by individuating gators, enticing them to interact with tourists and negotiating the fears of gators and tourists alike to produce what they see as a mutually beneficial experience. These encounters allow for meaningful interactions between distinct yet similar bodies and highlight the animals' power to influence people.