Wildlife Photographer In Florida Catches Footage Of Bird Eating An Alligator Whole

NBC

Florida is well-known for its wildlife and the many interesting components that can only belong in nature, as well as the many creatures that call the sunshine state home. Yet seeing a bird eating an entire alligator still comes as a huge surprise to most.

That’s exactly what happened when a wildlife photographer managed to capture an incredible video of a bird managing to swallow an entire alligator whole. It doesn’t matter that the gator was a baby, it was still a gator.


On December 5, Shellie Gilliam happened to be doing some animal watching on the north shore of Lake Apopka, which happens to be a very popular birdwatching site located in the northwest portion of Orlando, when she caught the rare site on video. The adult sized Great Blue Heron – otherwise known by most as a crane – managed to catch a young alligator in its giant beak, then flew off towards the lakeside in order to ensure his meal wouldn’t get away.

Daily Mail

Photographer Gilliam eventually posted the footage on her Facebook profile, where she captioned, “Yes, A bird can eat an alligator! If its Savage enough! This Great Blue Heron spent a half hour killing and consuming a large juvenile Alligator near Lake Apopka. I spotted it just after it had captured the alligator a few hundred yards away and then the heron flew off with the alligator in his jaws to this spot where he consumed it and I shot the video and took photos. Just Wow! Nature continues to me amaze me every day.”

The post received over 300 shares, 80 comments and 708 shares. Eventually, the video was seen by NBC news, as well as a number of other media outlets that also felt the need to share such an astonishing video.

When asked by an NBC affiliate about the experience, Gilliam shared that she didn’t think the heron had caught anything out of the ordinary. “I first thought it was a large fish or a greater siren, but upon closer review through my camera, discovered it was a large juvenile alligator.” Then when the bird moved to another area to actually eat it, which she managed to film.

“I had to walk a few hundred yards back to where he landed, whew. Once in a lifetime experience,” she added.

According to Audobon Society, which is a free online bird guide, Great Blue Herons are considered one of the most common waterbird species in the United States. In fact, because of their large size, they were once widely hunted as well. National Geographic shares that considering that this marsh bird is also long-legged and quite tall, it can be found near streams and ponds along the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines where it can find food easily.


While the experience that has since been shared around the world seems astonishing to most, herons are actually very skilled fishers that know how to catch their prey with incredible stealth. They walk so slowly and stand so still, then “with a quick thrust of the sharp bill,” they catch their prey and swallow it whole.

Although alligators aren’t their most known food source, herons are better known to eat fish, rodents, frogs, snakes, insects, turtles and even other birds. Just like wildlife everywhere else in the world, these birds are just doing what they do best, surviving!

 

 

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