Cory Conlin took out his cellphone and began recording when he spotted the two creatures so close together. With nearly 400,000 views online, it seems as if everyone would’ve done the same! Conlon and the other dockside spectators were in for a treat. The video starts with a gator just relaxing on the surface of the water. Alligators, like submarines, have the incredible ability to adjust their buoyancy by expanding and deflating their lungs. The modification allows them to blend in with their surroundings, sneak up on prey, and disguise their size. It isn’t long until you see a light-colored shark swim right up to the creature. The shark begins circling the alligator many times before chomping down on one of its legs as it floated on top of the water. The gator struggled and turned to face the shark, who stopped attacking him and resumed swimming in circles. You can see several people tossing food into the water to bait the shark and alligator in the footage. In the state of South Carolina, feeding alligators is against the law. It’s also illegal to throw chum in the water. The people tossing fish into the ocean could have influenced the behavior of the shark in the video. Before the shark chomps on it, one chunk of fish appears to land perfectly on top of the alligator. For all we know, these two are best buds and the bite was a mere accident. It’s unclear what kind of shark is in the video. The Hilton Head Island area is home to a well-known great white shark population. The shark in this video appears hungry, but the alligator wasn’t about to let the shark have an easy meal without defending itself. A new study suggests that American alligators on the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines of the United States feed on tiny sharks and stingrays, albeit the sharks may not be as large as the shark in the movie Jaws. Despite the contrasts between freshwater and saltwater, sharks and alligators frequently share the same water.
Is it Normal for Sharks to Attack Alligators?
The simple answer here is no, not really. Shark vs Alligator is relatively rare because alligators usually hang out in semi-salty swamps where sharks tend to prefer the coastal waters where they can swim better. That isn’t to say it doesn’t happen, as show in the video below, but it isn’t a common occurrence. Sharks and alligators aren’t natural known enemies.
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