In all the years I've been here there've been no attacks on the Peace River or it's tributary streams but there have been a couple of deadly attacks, one in an area pond (a 4 year old girl) and another in a canal that connects to the Myakka River (a grown man who jumped in to cool off after mowing a lawn), but I don't think I want to take the chance of being the one to break the trend on the river because the gators are definitely around. I've always been cautious when paddling and even more so in my kayak that has me basically sitting on the water than I am in my canoe which offers some protection, but either way, because even the kayak appears so large and bright to anything in the water, I think the risk is minimal from the generally nonagressive gators. I stay well off shore in deeper water and avoid tight places as much as possible so as to not crowd any that may be around.