Watch a Big Alligator Eat a Smaller One
A rare scene of cannibalism was recorded in Florida.
It's a gator-eat-gator world—at least in Florida, where a large American alligator was videotaped this week chowing down on a smaller member of its own species.
The grisly encounter was recorded by Alex Figueroa at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland on April 13. The larger gator was 11 to 12 feet (3.3 to 3.7 meters) long, Figueroa estimated.
Although he has never seen such cannibalistic behavior in person, it is not unheard of in alligators, says Christopher Brochu, a professor at the University of Iowa who studies crocodilians.
"Gators are very opportunistic and will eat whatever they can find; anything that can fit down their throat is food," says Brochu. This includes other gators, alive or dead.
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