Watch: Alligator Goes Up in Smoke After Eating Worst Snack Imaginable
How do you get lots of sympathy for a Florida alligator? The answer appears to be a TikTok video of what happens when a little bitty drone meets a well-used set of alligator chompers.
The viral video shows a drone approaching an alligator. Text on the TikTok video suggests that the drone was being used as bait so that the drone’s owner could get a great picture of an alligator trying to gobble something.
“Trying to get a close up of this alligator in the Everglades … wait till he chews through the drone’s battery,” the videographer first posted, according to Newsweek.
WARNING: The following videos contain vulgar language that some viewers will find offensive.
After combining two videos, the author tried to explain a little more.
“We were trying to get a close up of the gator with its mouth open and thought the obstacle avoidance would make the drone fly away (was only our second time using the spark),” the caption read.
The gator did not get the memo.
The animal reached up and gobbled the drone.
“He’s eating it,” one woman is heard saying. “George, no. Don’t eat that!”
@devhlangerPart 2 of alligator eating my drone #FYP #Everglades #Drone #Gators #FloridaMan♬ original sound – Devhlanger
When it reached the battery, a massive cloud of smoke obscured the alligator, which then could be seen thrashing before more smoke again obscured it.
“Oh, s***,” a man’s voice is heard saying. “We gotta get out of here,” another voice says.
The individual who took the video said it was not shot in Everglades National Park, which has a ban on drones.
“This is outside a national park … this is on a tour … I’m clearly filming the drone x flying the drone … [it was] accidental … direct your anger towards alligator farms,” he posted.
The alligator, he said, “is doing fine and still looked hungry after.”
On its website, the National Park Service said drones have been banned “due to serious concerns about the negative impact that flying unmanned aircraft can have for safety of visitors, staff, and wildlife.”
“In some cases, their use has resulted in noise and nuisance complaints from park visitors, park visitor safety concerns, and one documented incident in which park wildlife were harassed,” the site said.
“Small drones have crashed in geysers in Yellowstone National Park, attempted to land on the features of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, been lost over the edge of the Grand Canyon, and been stopped from flying in Prohibited Airspace over the Mall in Washington DC.”
Drones and alligators don’t mix. You may have seen a recent viral video of an alligator catching & chomping on a drone. We’ve seen it too. Thanks to all who have expressed concern.
While we don’t know for sure where it was taken, here’s a few reminders for when you us:
NPS Pic pic.twitter.com/CyAmqNOncA
— Everglades National Park (@EvergladesNPS) September 2, 2021
Flying a drone in a national park — if you get caught — could result in a misdemeanor charge, which could carry a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
