dangerous but not deadly

Although most people think that alligators are bloodthirsty killers, they are actually peaceful reptiles, they are only violent when other animals or people come and try to steal their young or hurt them. They are only protecting their young. If they do not have young alligators to protect, then they usually just swim or crawl away. Many people have just heard stories about a particularly violent crocodile in the Nile river, that supposedly bites anyone who tries to cross his territory. This might sound a bit like a story you have heard, three billy goats gruff, it is , its just that the crocodile never gets beaten.