Darwin’s theory does work.
Whilst in FL on a scuba club freshwater springs dive trip we camped by a pool above an underground spring. I met and talked with divers with 3 tanks each and over a mile of line who were going down to chart further into the underground river. When they went under ~1am, I decided to take a walk barefoot in shorts to see the actual river in the moonlight.
After about 50 - 100 steps I heard crashing through the brush and a belly flop to my right. Then I heard several more crashing and belly flops to my right followed by many more in front of me. Then I realized GATORS!!!! I did an about face and ran back to camp and my tent - the ONLY direction from which I did NOT hear gators...
When I saw the Pres. of the club the nest morning, I asked why he didn’t mention the gators? Charlie’s answer - everyone knows there are gators in FL...
LOL, when I was in the Navy, I went with a friend to snorkel in one of those, and I must say, it never even crossed my mind.
But those crystal clear springs didn’t seem at all like the kind of place you would see a gator. Didn’t seem like their habitat...