Alligators usually follow a series of non-violent behaviors when interacting with each other. But they are animals, not machines, just like we are. People, which are supposed to be "civilized", may react 
savagely if provoked in the right way. The same can be said for any of our domestic animals. Occasionally, even alligators will react violently towards each other. It is foolish to provoke any wild animal,
regardless of size or disposition. The animals have a right to live in their habitat, and humans can share it with them if they take the time to understand the animals.

6/02/2024 In Brazos Bend State Park, as I was on the Spillway Trail, near Elm Lake, a few very loud, deep bellows came from  somewhere ahead.
The bellows were only repeated twice, so I had trouble catching up to the gator. A couple small gators bellowed closer, but I passed them because I wanted to find the
male that was bellowing so loudly. There was a large gator at the edge of Elm Lake, about 20 yards North of the end of the Spillway Trail. It wouldn't bellow while I was
watching and waiting. While I waited for it to bellow again (it didn't), I heard what seemed to be violent  splashing from many yards away. I thought it could have been Coots
 arguing.  And then I heard it again.  And again. Each time, there were just a few splashes, then silence.  I thought it might signal some kind of alligator activity,  but I wanted
 to see this gator bellow. (It didn't.)  After one of those splashes, the large gator I had been watching seemed to respond. It turned towards the sound, started moving North
 and submerged under the mats of hyacinth.  All of the events I describe here are also shown in this edited video.


I looked for the splashing. I thought the big gator might head that way too--but I didn't see it. I walked carefully. If splashing was an alligator with prey, or alligators fighting,
or alligators fighting over prey--then one or more alligators trying to leave the situation might suddenly appear in front of me on the trail.
I found two alligators locked together. Both were at least 6 feet long.  One had its jaws clamped tightly over the head of the other and they were right next to the bank. At first
I thought that one of them was dead.  But they were both active.  As is usual when an alligator has its jaws clamped on something, there were periods of relative stillness, with
 brief periods of quick and violent action. They can drown prey, but drowning another alligator could be difficult. Then the submerged gator moved, and pulled against the
one above. The lower one was anchored on the shore, while the other one was partially floating. So, there were two live alligators for sure. What was going on?
 
 
When the alligators thrashed again, I could see that each alligator had its jaws clamped on the jaw of the other. That is, one alligator had both jaws clamped on the upper jaw
 of the other--while the other had both jaws clamped on that one's bottom jaw. Sometimes an alligator will "thrash" a carcass, by violently shaking it side-to-side, or by pulling
it with a sharp jerk. If the prey is small enough, it is lifted and cracked like a whip until it breaks into pieces. One or both gators lifted and thrashed. Since both sets of jaws
were clamped together, there wasn't much damage. Please note that I am shooting with telephoto/zoom functions on the camera. I'm at least 20 yards away from the alligators
I show here. There was also another gator grunting/croaking from the West side of the trail (which was behind me), so I watched that side also--I couldn't see that gator.


Twist feeding (rolling) is a reflexive action that alligators do when their jaws encounter resistance.  It can be used to drown or subdue live prey, or pull pieces from a large
carcass. Here, both alligators could use the technique--and could work against it. They both seemed to be about the same size, so were evenly-matched. When twist-feeding
in open water the tail is used by twisting angled to the main axis of the body. ("Death roll of the alligator: mechanics of twist feeding in water" by Fish, Bostic et. al. 2007)
In shallow water, or on land, the tail used as a bit differently. Here, neither gator could generate power; and each interfered with the twisting of the other. There seemed to be
 some "cracking" sounds. It could have been from hard surface contact, or possible stress in the skull and jawbones. Both gators remained stoic throughout this conflict.  This
stoic, deliberate approach to survival is one of the things I admire when I watch alligators. I show some old examples of twist feeding and prey thrashing on this page.


I thought I was scheduled to work at the Nature Center, and it also looked like it was going to rain soon--so I couldn't watch for very long.  I hoped to see a resolution to this
conflict with neither alligator seriously harmed, but was very curious how this would end. I've seen other conflicts like this resolve in a draw. While I watched this apparent
stalemate, I also wondered what had started this. I will never know for sure.  The alligators have never told me what they're up to.

 
My desire for a quick and nonviolent resolution soon fulfilled--but in a very surprising way. An alligator larger than the two combatants (probably the one I'd been watching
earlier) surfaced from under the hyacinth. It cruised slowly towards the two combatants. It maintained this majestic pace until it was within touching distance of the two. 


The "top" gator quickly opened its jaws (upper jaw was lifted off the other's head), but could not disengage because its lower jaw was still trapped by the other alligator.


When the Big Gator moved in and gave a gap-jawed nudge to the two heads, the "bottom" gator released its grip. Then one quickly moved away and swam to the deeper water,
while the other moved towards the bank. The rapid movement indicated in the images below is only from the retreating alligator as it moved to the deeper water.


The Big Gator moved away from the one near the bank, and turned to face the gator in the water, as if to guard the gator on the bank. The other alligator kept moving away.
The Big Gator turned around and moved towards the one at the shore, as if to guide it to the bank, and watched it climb onto land. The Big Gator moved slowly, with no
apparent aggression. It seemed like  the big gator had been protecting the alligator on the bank.  I had to leave, so I couldn't see what else happened. I have recorded two
other examples of alligator conflict: In 2012, I found two alligators that had grabbed each other by the hip. In 2022, I saw a fight from beginning to end.

02/12/2023  At Brazos Bend State Park, the air was cool, but the sun was out.  As the day progressed alligators showed themselves and moved out of the water.
Even though the air was relatively cool, exposure to the sunlight allowed them to collect the infrared and heat themselves. Circulating blood warmed by the sun from the skin and osteoderms
into their bodies as the cooler blood was cycled back out would allow, over time, the alligtors internal temperature to rise higher than the air temperature.  One of our frequent visitors told me
about an alligator with an alligator's carcass in Elm Lake, so I went to see it. The pictures below show that I found it.
Unlike from what the popular media might imply, an alligator eating an alligator carcass is not that uncommon. I usually tell visitors that although we are seeing an alligator eating an alligator
carcass, it doesn't necessarily mean that the carcass was killed by that alligator. It could have been; but most gator fights usually just end with one submitting and escaping.
Large animal carcasses require extra effort for an alligator to process. Alligator teeth are not very good for cutting prey, so they have to spend a lot of time chewing a carcass to soften it and
weaken connective tissues until the prey can be shaken apart. Alligators carcasses are especially tough, with extra bones and strong skin.  Some of the close-up images attached show that
the teeth have not penetrated the skin of the carcass.
In some cases, an alligator carcass is swallowed in one piece, without shaking it apart. I have an example of that from Mother's Day in 2014, on this page. Comparing the size of this carcass
and the live gator, I think it might be possible for this one to consume the carcass if it crushed the skull.
   
     

From BBSP on 05/29/2022   Water level in Pilant Lake has been receding, due to trail construction, lack of rain, and the heat. The receding water is collecting
into various runoff areas and puddles. As I have observed before, various predators at BBSP exploit these spots for easy prey capture. However, an alligator will sometimes
try to take possession of one of the small hunting zones and chase off other birds and alligators. Sometimes the submission or chase doesn't go as the aggressive alligator desired,
and a fight could occur. The series of photos below show such an incident.  The gator on the left was moving upstream, while the other gator had been moving downstream. Both had
been foraging in the slow current formed as the water was leaving from Pilant Lake.The left gator stopped, submerged and turned away--all signals of submission. I've put these images
and the clips I filmed in to this video file (mp4). (video uploaded 6/20/2022)
   

While the gator was submerged, the aggressor gator moved toward it. When the left gator surfaced, the aggressor moved towards it. 
   

There was a short chase until the left gator was caught at the bank. Then the wrestling started. During the first round, I heard two very loud "cracks".  When I reviewed the video, it appears
that their heads banged together to create those sounds.  That's shown in this video file (mp4) (video uploaded 6/20/2022)
   

They wrestled, paused, and wrestled again.  Look at the heightened body positions and the gapes of the two angry alligators. These postures signal high aggression. These were the only
postures or sounds during this entire event.  No snout lifts, tail arches, tail swishes, head-slaps, growls, grunts, bellows, nasal spray, or bubbling. Their backs were higher above the water
than usual, but this was because they were walking/moving through shallow water. The aggressive alligator (the "insti-gator"  ha ha) only started this by moving closer to the other gator.
   

They wrestled, paused, and wrestled again.  I stayed a safe distance away, in case whichever one lost decided to escape by running onto the trail.  Some of these images were direct photos,
and some are frames from the video.  The last two below are from video frames. The gator in the foreground has a large gash just behind its head. This gash would have probably been
worse if not for the alligator's osteoderms. The osteoderms are the disks of bone arranged in rows on the alligator's back.  I've seen many studies and reports have been done about them,
and their probable benefit for crocodilians that have them. Each single osteoderm is a complex mechanical object with amazing structural strength. Rows of them on the gators' backs make
a structure that gives protection and allows flexibility.  But along with the armor (which is probably used mostly in situations like this) the osteoderms also give additional skeletal
support during movements like high-walks. The osteoderms have enhanced blood supply internally and externally. This may help with heat transfer. If submerged for excessive periods, the
osteoderms could help regulate lactic acidosis; and also provide calcium for egg-laying females.
   

After the second "round", they moved apart and went downstream with one of them (I assume the original aggressor, but I lost track while they wrestled), continuing to get close to or in front
of the other. The "loser" tried to swim away, but the "aggressor" continued trying to get in front of it. They finally moved off. 
 

And, this page shows alligators at the park, on land, near various landmarks at the park.

           Go back to my main alligator page, Alligators

           Go back to my home page, Welcome to rickubis.com
           Go back to the See the World page.