A young Florida alligator is getting a lot of attention on social media for doing something these reptiles don’t usually do: run.
A video of the moment was posted June 8 on the Alligators of Florida Facebook page, showing the three- or four-foot-long alligator running the 20-plus feet in less than six seconds to enter a lake.
And he did it with his head held high and his tail wagging from side to side.
Joyce DeGregorio, a resident of Interlachen, said she recorded the video on Tuesday, June 7, in the backyard of her home, next to Lake Grandin in 345 hectares. Interlachen is in Putnam County, about 65 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
It was the second time that day that the alligator had entered his yard, DeGregorio told McClatchy News.
“I wasn’t overly surprised to see a crocodile, because there are so many in the lake. But I was amazed to see how far he had come. They like to lounge in the cove and under our dock,” DeGregorio said.
“He realized that I was looking at him from about 50 feet away. Then I got a little closer and I must have scared him because he started running. He had never seen a crocodile run like that before. It was an incredible thing to have witnessed! Usually what they do is slide slowly into the water.”
DeGregorio’s video has received hundreds of different reactions from the 57,500 members of the Facebook group, with some commenting in awe of the crocodile’s speed and how similar it was to a nutria.
“I’ve never seen an alligator run like this before!” Kathy Mullen wrote.
“I prefer bears in Colorado. They are larger than most crocodiles, but at least they can be seen from afar,” he wrote. Larry Parker. How fast do crocodiles run?
Despite their reputation for being clumsy and lumbering, these predators can reach the speed of a deer, a coyote or even a grizzly bearexperts say. “When you look at a crocodile it seems as if you were looking at a statue,” reported the National Park Service. “They can be motionless for hours, barely moving to breathe and blink their eyes, but when they spot prey, they can suddenly run at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour (mph).”
However, they cannot keep up that pace, the portal said. Experience Kissimmee Florida. “They have been known to tire very quickly,” the website added. “In the water, an alligator can go 20 mph. Similarly, they have more resistance in the water, which means that no one should ever try to compete with them in a race.”
Translation of Jorge Posada
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