Alligators and dinosaurs may have more in common than we think
Alligators and dinosaurs are found to both have the ability to hear according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
A huge, bellowing alligator was jumped and bitten by another gator in Florida, a video shows.
Seana Sasnett was filming the alligator — along with a second one beside it — at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Fla., Wednesday morning when a third alligator jumped into the frame.
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“I was just filming the two alligators bellowing and didn’t even see the third one until he came in with his mouth opened and bit him,” Sasnett told FOX 13. “It was exciting to see.”
In the short video, which Sasnett posted to Facebook, after the bigger alligator gets bitten, the smaller gator jumped to the side, away from the splashing water of the two fighting reptiles.
Sasnett then posted a second video, which shows the gators after their short fight.
They can be seen swimming calmly in the water, before the larger gator went back to bellowing, facing the direction of the gator who swam away when the fight began.
The gator that started the fight can be seen going under the water before it disappears.
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Alligators bellowing are often a sign of mating season, according to the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens in Naples, Fla., though gators do bellow all year round.
“Alligators also may bellow to communicate size to each other,” the zoo said in a Facebook post showing some of their gators making the noise in April. “While both males and females bellow, males can reach a lower frequency.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), alligators begin courting in early April and mate in May or June.
Aside from roaming farther from their lagoons, warmer temperatures also rev up alligators’ metabolism, making them more active and aggressive as they hunt for prey and mate.
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The FWC recommends not swimming during dusk or dawn — an alligator’s most active hours — keeping animals on a leash and away from water and keeping a safe distance if they come into contact with the large creature.
Fox News' Allie Raffa contributed to this report.