A tour group in Florida’s Everglades got here throughout an unsettling sight on Mom’s Day this yr: they witnessed an grownup alligator consuming a child gator in what the tour information known as a “Nationwide Geographic second.”
Video taken by Kelly Alvarez reveals the grownup alligator chomping down on a child alligator in Shark Valley Everglades Nationwide Park on Sunday, Might 11, as two younger gators watch close by. A tour information might be heard saying that the alligator is consuming its personal youngsters, although it’s not clear that’s what was actually occurring.
“An alligator mom will eat all of the infants if situations are unhealthy—like a drought or no water. She’s only a wild animal in any case,” Ben Welch, an alligator tour information in South Louisiana, instructed journey author Judith Fein.
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“That’s what occurs when youngsters are naughty and misbehave,” the tour information joked because the vacationers watched in horror.
Why do alligators eat one another?
Alligator eats child gator in Florida’s Everglades (Luis Roman by way of Storyful)
Dig deeper: In keeping with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Fee, bigger alligators usually eat smaller alligators. They’re thought of one of many largest threats to the survival of smaller gators, however grownup alligators can be victims of cannibalism.
There are a number of the reason why they might eat one another, not simply because they’re hungry.
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“Typically it may be territorial, however fairly often alligators are cannibalistic,” Florida wildlife officers instructed FOX 13 Tampa.
Usually, the males are extra aggressive, particularly throughout mating season, which runs from March till June. However so long as the climate is heat in Florida, alligators are extra energetic usually.
The Supply: This report contains info from Storyful, the Perceptive Journey weblog, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Fee and FOX 13 Tampa.
