Go Gators
Woody > On Oct 18, 2017, at 10:36 AM, Jerry D. Belloit <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks Helen! I learned some things I did not know! > > Jerry > > From: <[email protected]> on behalf of Helen Huntley > <[email protected]> > Reply-To: "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> > Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 10:27 AM > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] Alligators eating sharks-Washington Post > > The American alligator has long been known as a fierce apex predator, easily > capable of taking down its typical freshwater prey — fish, crustaceans, > wading birds — and very occasionally going after humans. > But its diet may extend further than previously thought. When given the > chance, these gators will travel into saltwater environments and feed on > marine animals such as stingrays and sharks, according to a new study > published in the journal Southeastern Naturalist. > James Nifong, the lead author of the study, spent nearly a decade observing > American alligator populations along the coasts of Florida and Georgia. More > often than not, his research involved headlamps and nocturnal boat rides > through alligator-filled waters, since the animals usually hunt at night. > > Over that period, Nifong and the teams he worked with temporarily caught more > than 500 alligators and pumped their stomachs using a hose, a pipe and > something of a Heimlich maneuver. (He also became quite adept at alligator > wrangling: “Anything less than four feet long we just hand-grab and bring it > on the boat,” Nifong told The Washington Post.) > > ADVERTISEMENT > > > Replay > > > > 0 > > > > From there, researchers painstakingly filtered through the contents of the > alligators' stomachs to try to identify what the animals had eaten. > > “It is meticulous, going through it, sorting through it,” Nifong said. “A lot > of these things we're identifying, they're very small or we really only have > small fragments of things.” > > [‘It was a monster’: Hunters kill enormous 800-pound alligator that was > feasting on farm cattle] > An American alligator has its stomach pumped. > (James Nifong) > Researchers documented evidence that the alligators had consumed three new > species of sharks and one new species of stingray, Nifong said. He estimated > that the largest sharks eaten were three to four feet long, while the largest > stingrays consumed were probably two to three feet long. > > Nothing on the level of “Jaws,” sure — but Nifong noted it was possible that > there were larger, untrapped gators out there that had taken down bigger > sharks as prey. > > “There's not a ton of people out there stomach-pumping very large > alligators,” he said. “They're actually very difficult to stomach-pump and > retrieve prey items. It's very tough to be certain that you got everything > out of there.” > > ADVERTISEMENT > > 2 > > > > For several years, researchers also affixed GPS tracking devices to the > alligators they caught and released to observe their travel patterns. > > What they found was that the gators were “opportunistic predators” who could > leave their freshwater habitats — usually small ponds on barrier islands or > areas right behind coastal dunes — and swim down estuaries through > increasingly salty water, toward the coast, Nifong said. > > Play Video 0:31 > Giant alligator spotted in Florida nature reserve > The Lakeland Police Department says this giant alligator was spotted on Jan. > 15 at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Florida. (Kim Joiner) > Despite a lack of salt glands, some alligators were able to stay in a marine > environment for days at a time, “then go back to fresh water, rehydrate and > go back out,” Nifong said. One animal they tracked with GPS stayed in a > saltwater environment for 32 consecutive days. Nifong suspects that heavy > rainfall at the time helped the alligator survive. > > “In the happenstance that it rains out there, they can actually drink the > fresh water off the top of the salt water,” he said. > > Nifong said more research is needed to determine whether alligators were > consuming sharks in greater numbers and why. He found historical reports of > clashes between sharks and alligators back in the late 1800s, but he said > their interactions may have increased in recent years as a result of > development. > > Speaking of Science newsletter > The latest and greatest in science news. > Sign up > “Both populations have suffered declines, and you've got a lot of coastal > development that have decreased their access to estuarine habitats,” he said. > “Historically, alligators were considered just a freshwater species. We found > that not only do they habitually use marine habitats, there are very > important linkages between those two systems . . . We need to account for > those interactions when we're planning for those conservation efforts.” > > That research may have to wait. Nifong, a Florida native, is on a year-long > appointment as a postdoctoral researcher with the Kansas Cooperative Fish and > Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University. > > “I'm studying native fish in Kansas streams, looking at what's affecting > their populations,” Nifong said, laughing. “It has nothing to do with > alligators.” > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier > (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorTalk" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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