8-Foot Cannibal Alligator Caught Eating Smaller Gator in Florida; How Common Is Cannibalism Among Reptiles?

A huge alligator preyed on a much smaller one. A wildlife photographer witnessed the scene.

Alligator Eats a Smaller Gator

Barbara D'Angelo, a wildlife photographer, was traveling home after visiting her dad on March 6. She decided to take a detour through Florida park to watch the sunset.

D'Angelo told Newsweek that the birds were settling and it was already dark. She turned westerly to see the sunset and wanted to compose her photo when she heard a massive splash behind her.

When she turned around, she saw a giant gator raising its head with something dark in its mouth. D'Angelo was only 10 feet away. She immediately reached for her camera to capture the moment.

She started shooting with her hands shaking and her heart pounding. She focused on the cannibal alligator's mouth, face, and eyes. The photographer said the gator kept its eyes on her, so she stood still like a tree so she wouldn't appear like a threat to the beast.

She stood there for two minutes and kept on capturing the moments as they unfolded. She saw through her lens how the giant reptile raised its head and whipped and slammed its prey to snap its neck and crush its bones.

D'Angelo said the alligator knew what it was doing and how to do it. It reportedly crushed its prey, tenderized and folded it in third when it was done.

How Common Is Cannibalism Among Alligators?

Bigger alligators preying on smaller gators are not uncommon. In August 2022, Tammy Shaw was paddling on Silver Springs in Marion County when she spotted an 11-foot alligator, about the length of her paddleboard, with a smaller gator about half its size.

She told FOX 35 News that the beast seemingly showed off what it got in its mouth because the reptile reportedly smiled at her. She took a video of the incident and said that the alligator was looking right at her with the smaller gator in its mouth and seemed proud of what it did.

In 2021, Taylor Soper, co-founder of the "Titos&Chicken" podcast, shared a video of a massive alligator attacking and eating a small gator on Twitter. The footage showed how the huge reptile fit the smaller gator into its massive mouth.

According to Soper, the incident happened in his parent's backyard. The smaller gator was reportedly six feet long.

Soper spoke about the incident with USA Today. According to him, his father was alone at home when he saw the gators and decided to grab the camera and start recording. His family believed they had seen the smaller gator in a similar spot the previous week, and it was eating an even smaller gator.

Soper said his dad was surprised that the sight happened again and that it happened at all.

He told the outlet that he was blown away by what he witnessed. He also likened the alligator to a "freaking dinosaur."

Check out more news and information on Alligators in Science Times.