An alligator is “behaving abnormally” in a south Huntsville neighborhood, councilwoman Jennie Robinson said Thursday, and at least one resident acknowledged there is concern for the safety of children in the area.

“I worry about the kids,” said Jack Kilian, who raised concerns over alligators in the Jackson Bend neighborhood to the city council at Thursday’s meeting. “The parents, we can train (to avoid alligators). The kids, they don’t understand. And what happens if you lose a kid? I mean, God forbid.”

Kilian referenced a July 4 incident in Hilton Head, S.C., when a woman walking her dog was attacked and killed by an alligator.

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“That’s our fear is that we’d lose a kid or lose somebody from our neighborhood because we didn’t do anything (to prevent it),” he said.

The Jackson Bend neighborhood in south Huntsville sits adjacent to the greenway along Haysland Road where repeated alligator sightings have been made. Ponds are abundant at both Jackson Bend and along the Haysland Road greenway and conservationists have told residents they are ideal alligator habitats.

Residents have been documenting alligator movements and behavior for months, Kilian said. At least three alligators have been identified – an 11-foot long male, a 7-foot female and a young alligator that’s much smaller.

Kilian said there have been no known attacks on humans or pets in the neighborhood.

But alligators have been approaching yards of homes more often in recent weeks and appear to have become acclimated to living around humans, Kilian said. The 7-foot female alligator, Kilian said, remained in the yard at one house for two days before leaving. In another instance, Kilian said a woman was in her backyard reading and looked up to see an alligator in the yard.

Conservationists have Kilian and others in the neighborhood that the alligators were in the area first and that development has encroached on the gator habitat.

Experts also say that alligators typically shy away from humans and are more interested in preying on small animals for food. But at least one alligator has become accustomed to the presence of humans that they are no longer deterred from being around them. At that point, the presence of alligators can become more problematic.

“We do have an alligator that is behaving abnormally in the Jackson Bend area,” said Robinson, whose district includes the Jackson Bend neighborhood. “It’s a nuisance alligator. When human beings come out into the yard, the alligator comes into the yard because it expects to be fed. It would be unnerving for anyone if that happens.”

City Administrator John Hamilton said residents should avoid feeding alligators.

Kilian said there is frustration in dealing with conservationists because of slow response time dictated by lack proximity to Huntsville.

Conservationists have talked with Jackson Bend residents and traveled to Huntsville to review the situation, Hamilton said. The rise and fall of water levels in the ponds is likely an influence on the presence of alligators, Hamilton said, and it makes it difficult when conservationists come to assess the situation and the alligators can’t be found.

“Some of it’s just finding (the alligators) at the right time,” Hamilton said.

A man said an alligator attacked and killed his Golden Retriever near Haysland Road in May. Marianne Gauldin of the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources told AL.com that the department could not determine if there had been an alligator attack.

“But it is a good reminder for everybody to make sure that they’re being cautious in areas around alligators and watching their pets and being wary of their own safety as well,” Gauldin said.