Caught on Tape: Alligator Devours Another Alligator in Shocking Video
Most people with ponds in their backyards have fish, maybe a variety of amphibians, some turtles, ducks and herons.
Charming, small, non-life-threatening creatures.
One family in the Murrells Inlet area of South Carolina has a backyard pond that sports something more terrifying: an enormous alligator.
As if that’s not unsettling enough, the reason the family has been in the news lately is because that giant alligator is so big it eats other alligators for lunch.
In videos shared by Taylor Soper, the large reptile is seen shaking and then eating another alligator whole.
Soper said the scene took place in her parents’ backyard, and that the “snack” alligator was 6 feet long — you know, just a little bigger than the average U.S. male.
Best guesses at the larger alligator’s size have him at 12-plus feet long, a modern-day dinosaur.
What’s more, according to People, Soper also revealed the “small” alligator had been seen eating an even smaller alligator the week before.
“This happened in my parents backyard today… The snack is a 6ft gator,” Soper tweeted on Sept. 30.
This happened in my parents backyard today… The snack is a 6ft gator #lowcountrylivin pic.twitter.com/O7Omsw42uL
— Taylor Soper ?? (@Soper_TandC) September 30, 2021
The tweet has been retweeted over 11,000 times and shared across multiple platforms. After the video went viral, Soper posted more of the clip.
“Here’s him ‘prepping’ his snack,” she shared on Facebook on Oct. 3.
The reactions have run the gamut, with a large portion of people expressing amazement or terror and advising that Soper’s family relocate ASAP.
It should come as no surprise that alligators are opportunistic feeders and occasionally cannibalize smaller alligators.
As one person pointed out, that’s part of why they separate alligators by size at alligator farms: “Once gators get to be about 3-4 feet, their only natural predators are man and bigger gators,” the Twitter commenter wrote.
In fact, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries website, there’s not much an alligator won’t eat.
“Hatchlings begin snapping up insects soon after birth,” the website states. “They graduate to a diet of crawfish, small fish, and frogs over time. As they grow, their diet changes to include larger animals such as crabs, larger fish, frogs, and small birds.
“As alligators reach adulthood and continue to grow, their diet continues to expand and can include even larger animals such as muskrats, nutria, beavers, raccoons, large birds and fish, snakes, turtles, and deer — basically anything that can’t eat them first.”
They also acknowledge that “they will eat almost anything, including each other.”
While many urged Soper’s family to move far away from this behemoth, perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise — population control handled internally. Just mind your step.
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