Watch Giant Alligators Cannibalize Smaller Ones in Florida
Two recent wildlife interactions in the Sunshine State show just how brutal nature can be
Not much is off limits in nature, and this gator recently demonstrated that by eating his own kind. Nature is Metal posted a video of a large alligator eating a smaller alligator near a dock. There’s not much fight involved, at least in the footage. The smaller reptile is limp when the video starts, but the larger gator throws in a few death rolls for good measure as he drags its prey by the head into the water and continues to thrash it. See it for yourself below.
It’s unclear what the smaller gator was up to ahead of the attack, but it’s not the first time we’ve reported on alligator cannibalism, which is a well-known phenomenon. Last fall, a small gator was hunting an egret—when it turned into the hunted. And last spring, golfers witnessed the cannibalism of a 6-foot gator by a 20-footer.
Florida is reporting an early start to the gator mating season this year due to warmer weather. Big males in particular are territorial this time of year. “Once they have their territory, they get in, they chase everything out of their territory then slowly start letting females in,” Brandon Fisher of Gatorland told WESH.
Read Next: Florida Man Loses Leg in Recent Alligator Attack
In another instance this year, a wildlife photographer in Florida captured a cannibalistic gator on camera. She documented the surprise attack in March frame by frame from 10 feet away in Orlando Wetlands Park and posted it on Facebook.
Posted by Barbara D'Angelo on Wednesday, March 15, 2023
“I just stood as still as I could, with hands shaking and heart pounding, and just started shooting.” Barbara D’Angelo, wildlife photographer told Newsweek. “This gator knew what he was doing and knew how to do it. He had his prey crushed, tenderized, and folded in thirds when he was done.”