ALLIGATOR BEHAVIOR page 4i:  FEEDING 9
This page was born 8/19/2022.  Rickubis designed it.  (such as it is.) Last update: 
Images and contents on this page copyright ©2001-2022  Richard M. Dashnau 

Alligators favor prey items that will fit inside their head. That is, if they can swallow it whole, then they will normally attack it. Alligators sometimes eat deer in the park, but the
larger ones were probably found carcasses, but small fawns might have been live captures. Alligators have eaten large nutria (as I've shown on this website). But, most of 
the time, they will eat things like fish, frogs, crayfish, snakes.... Their strong jaws make alligators well-adapted for eating turtles.  Prey can be almost any size relative
to the size of the alligator.    I've seen 10-foot alligators going after prey that was no larger than their largest teeth (very small frogs and fish). During 20 years of volunteering
at Brazos Bend State Park, I've gathered many photos and video clips documenting how alligators survive in a natural environment. This is the latest page collecting
feeding behaviors.

From Brazos Bend State Park on 06/19/2022   The recent drop in water levels in the park, although unfortunate, has caused an increase of animal activity as they
adjust to the new conditions. Starting in May, 2022- there were increased opportunities to view interesting behavior. One is an alligator behavior I have called "seining" soon after I first
 noticed it in 2002 (noted on this page; then later mentioned on this page; and observed in the background of this video. I've seen alligators do it many times, but haven't tried to fully
describe again...until now. I filmed this material June 19, 2022, while there was still quite a bit of water in Pilant Lake, and along the Spillway Trail. This was filmed near the Spillway Bridge
For about an hour, I watched this alligator as it did "seining" (horizontal body movement towards shallow water to trap prey) along with some other related activities. After years witnessing this
kind of behavior , I surmise that all  of these movements are done in an effort to flush, herd, and trap prey along shorelines (normally shallower) and in cuts or inlets along the bank. Part of the
reason I haven't described it until now is that the activity is relatively subtle, and difficult to show with text and images (at least for me); but I watched this alligator repeatedly follow these steps
for an hour, and  I've been able to pull many images from the video.  So, I'm going to try it here. For the best view of this, I recommend watching the 8 minute video.
So here we go.  For this description, I'm going to start with "underwater movement"; but the steps are done in a repeated cycle (most of the time, with some variation) so any step would work
 as a starting point.
01) Alligator moved while submerged, curving rapidly and using the tail both for propulsion and to stir the water. 02) Gator turned the other direction (essentially moved in an "S"
pattern) and pushed the submerged tail the other way--but only caused turbulence, it did not move. 03) Gator walked (in the water) while using tail thrust not to swim, but cause more water
 movement.  Current and eddies began forming. 
   
                                             STEP 1                                                                                                   STEP 2                                                                                                STEP 3            

04) Gator moved toward one bank (walking) with tail and body straight. 05) Gator curved the front of body towards one side while shifting body sideways in the opposite direction towards
that bank. 06) Body straightened as it shifted toward the bank, tail was brought around to push water towards the bank. Also sometimes front leg near bank was "waved" forward, which also
pushed water.
   
                                             STEP 4                                                                                                   STEP 5                                                                                                STEP 6            

07),08) Gator started "walking sideways" towards the bank while its tail started low oscillation, pushing water (but not pushing the gator).  09) Sidestepping increased in speed (pushing water
 with the gator's side) while tail oscillation increased, pushing more water. 
   
                                             STEP 7                                                                                                   STEP 8                                                                                                STEP 9

10),11) Gator quickened sidestepping towards the bank (still about 1 yd away), tail wass bent so the end "half" oscillated quickly, pushing water, and pushing the hindquarters to swing
towards that  bank. 12) Body was nearly parallel to the bank, tail was bent so the end was pointed forword, then tail was forced back and straightened, forcing more water to the rear.
   
                                             STEP 10                                                                                                   STEP 11                                                                                                STEP 12
 
13) Gator continued movement towards bank as strong tail waves forced major movement of water. Visible current now flowed past side of gator that faced away from the bank. 14) As water
on the outside moved back, displacement forced water between the bank and the gator  to move towards the gator's front.  Gator paused (possibly monitoring flows for prey).  15) Gator
started moving backwards, still  parallel to-and moving towards-the bank with lesser tail undulations (which could serve to flush prey as well as keep water moving). 
   
                                             STEP 13                                                                                                   STEP 14                                                                                                STEP 15

16) Movement slowed, then paused, with an occasional head-twist (top towards the bank) with open jaws to catch whatever might be there. 17) Then continued moving backwards and towards
 the bank with more tail movement until... 18) ...gator is either at the water's edge. Along the way, gator put its face into the vegetation (possibly using ISOs on face to find prey), with
occasional grabs.  There was no evidence (chewing, swallowing, etc.) the the gator had actually caught anything.
   
                                             STEP 16                                                                                                   STEP 17                                                                                                STEP 18

19) When the gator reached the shore it paused; 20) 21) then started moving backwards, and stayed close to the bank.
   
                                             STEP 19                                                                                                   STEP 20                                                                                                STEP 21

22) While moving backwards, the gator paused for more grabs into the plants.  23) 24) The gator moved until it was across a small "gap" in the bank, then moved sideways while blocking it.
   
                                             STEP 22                                                                                                   STEP 23                                                                                                STEP 24

25,26) The gator paused across the gap, moving the end of the tail, and prospecting in the plants, until it turned and moved back to the deeper water to start another cycle.
   
                                             STEP 25                                                                                                   STEP 26                                                                                                STEP 27
(step 27-above right through 34) While I was watching this gator, another one performed a head-slap (which I didn't see, but I could certainly hear) about 4 yards away from the first one.
 I pulled focus back to watch for any further challenge. While I watched the 2nd gator, the first one rushed into movement, and I caught just the end. It chased something towards the cutgrass.
29), 30), 31), 32) Then the prey leaped out from the  grass and escaped. It was a Bowfin (amia calva)! Amazing escape by twisting through the cutgrass!
   
                                             STEP 29                                                                                                   STEP 30                                                                                                STEP 31

33,34) The alligator gaped, apparently ready to lunge again, but then stopped and went back to its survey. Meanwhile, I lost track of the 2nd alligator.  I watched this alligator for an hour, hoping to
record it catching something--or flushing something else exciting. But we were both unlucky. I moved on.  Once again, you can watch the 8 minute video,which really demonstrates the activity.
   
                                             STEP 32                                                                                                   STEP 33                                                                                                STEP 34

I've watched "seining" behavior--moving sideways to herd prey towards a gathering point, in many different situations-not necessarily in during dry spells. I've also seen that alligators will
face upstream when there is an observable current (such as water flowing over the Spillway), to wait for prey. What I'm showing here seems to be a combination of the two, with the
alligator generating the current. I have witnessed this before, and it requires the body of water to be shallow, and small enough for the behavior to generate at least a brief current.
Because of the scale of the events (yards across); and their subtle nature (the current doesn't last long, and isn't very strong); it has been hard for me to record through video and/or photos
in a manner that would allow me to show how it works.  I believe I was finally successful. I think the edited video works very well, better than the photos alone.  Watch the 8 minute video.

If you'd like to know more about the park follow these links:

Brazos Bend State Park   The main page.

Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer's Page  The volunteer's main page.

Here are a few links to more information on alligators. There's a LOT of it out there. 

    Crocodilian.com

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 to the main alligator page