Who says you don’t leave tracks in the water?
Here’s a case where a gator left a clear trail.

Only I never did see the gator …
Even though it looked like it had recently been there.

Was it coming or going?
I didn’t get any closer to see. And not that the water wasn’t crystal clear. The waters of the swamp are shallow and oligotrophic, making it almost like looking through glass. At least in theory that’s the case — but not in this spot with all the duckweed on top. Could a gator be down there lying in wait? And did I say shallow? Water to the knee is deeper than it seems. And so I turned around: I’m just a visitor in a cypress dome the alligator (wherever he is) calls home.