nearly 80 teeth. A single bite from this animal is powerful enough to crush bone.
We were in awe… and he was incredible. A Godzilla of ancient proportions, he was nearly ten feet in length and around 300 pounds. This was exactly the encounter I had been dreaming of all day!
“This is it! Here we go!” I cried out, as my confident voice became the first sound to break the frozen tension.
Mark looked at Chance; they both looked at Mario.
“Coyote’s got this, I know he does!” Mario convinced them with a simple statement without an ounce of hesitation in his voice. In that instant Mark began to direct the team. Chance got into position a safe distance from the reptile and the cameras began to roll. This was my moment. I took a deep breath, and then Mark called, “ACTION!”
I slowly moved in on the Alligator; he was dead still, and might as well have been a rotting log, exhibiting the perfect camouflage for an ambush predator. In fact, it was almost impossible to tell the animal was alive until I got within about 15 feet and he suddenly released a guttural bellow, signaling us that he was there and that we had better not mistake him for anything but the king of the Everglades. I stopped dead in my tracks as he slowly opened his mouth, revealing a massive snag of tooth-lined jaws. My eyes widened in awe as I turned back to the camera.
“The American Alligator has one of the most powerful bite forces on the planet, clocking in at almost 2,000 pounds per square inch, combined with the ability to thrash its powerful neck and body; which pretty much means that if this animal grabs ahold of you, whatever it has bitten… you will not be getting back!”
I returned my attention to the reptile and began my advance. Just a single step forward and the beast erupted with a violent thrash of its long muscular tail. WHOOSH! A wave of water sent us all staggering backward, Mark and Chance dodging the splash in a serious effort to keep the cameras dry from the deluge.
“WOW! Did you get that on camera?” I screamed.
The alligator was now in full defense mode as I bravely moved forward, testing its lunging ability. With arms outstretched, giving it a visual distraction, I sidestepped the scaled defender as it hissed and exposed its flat white tongue. Looking down toward its throat, I could only imagine how terrifying it would be to find myself being swallowed by an animal of this magnitude. Though fear not; alligators have no interest in eating humans and most attacks come from a case of mistaken identity. Under normal circumstances, these aquatic reptiles primarily feast on fish, turtles, small mammals, and birds, and while I certainly didn’t fear being eaten, a bite from this animal could easily take my arm or crush my leg. There was no question about it, this was becoming the most dangerous animal encounter I had ever faced. I may as well have been gazing into the throat of a Tyrannosaur!
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