iStockphoto / Alex Pankratov
Human beings often take it for granted that we sit at the top of the food chain. Complacency comes easy when we aren’t living in a dog eat dog world, or rather an ‘alligator eat alligator’ world, but being a wild animal sure seems tough when there is constantly a bigger and badder creature out there ready, willing, and able to eat you.
Case in point, this tiny alligator in Kissimmee, Florida that was chased off as a dinosaur-sized gator emerged from the pond to defend its territory.
Massive Florida Alligator Chases Off Smaller Gator
Kissimmee is due South of Orlando, Florida and is the embodiment of ‘Central Florida’ to many… Rolling hills, lakes, and swampland abound with an untold number of alligator inhabitants.
Of course, here in Florida gators are everywhere. The old adage goes that if there’s a body of freshwater in Florida then chances are there is an alligator in there somewhere. And while that is a good rule of thumb it is obviously not a universal truth in the Sunshine State, though it is pretty much gospel throughout Central Florida where alligators are much more prevalent than they are near the beach.
In this instance, the viral video below from @blackwilder1 has the location tag ‘Kissimmee’ on the video so presumably it was filmed there. And while Kissimmee encompasses a large area in Florida, this lake/pond is evidently not big enough for two gators as this dinosaur chases off the smaller one:
@blackwilder1 and we got action 🎬 #aligator #Gator #Pool #SpringTime #vacationmode
While we don’t see the end of the interaction, it is clear the larger gator wants the smaller one out of his space. Alligator mating season in Florida typically begins in early April each year but is variable depending upon the weather, so it is likely we are witnessing a show of territorialism and the protection of its resources (possible mates). Once temperatures in Florida get into the lower 80s, which it has been for weeks, the gators get frisky.
That said, cannibalism among alligators is also something smaller alligators must grapple with. There was this moment at Florida’s Circle B Bar Preserve captured on camera few years ago of a massive alligator eating a small one with ease. The video blew UP at the time and is a reminder how nice it is we can all read about/watch these incidents from the comfort of our homes/cars/offices/phones/etc and not worry about getting eaten each day:
If you ever have any wild gator footage you want to see featured at BroBible, email me anytime at cass@brobible.com and I’ll check it out.