Deer and Alligator Standoff

American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) occasionally eat deer. The largest (verified) alligator on record was 15 feet 9 inches long and weighed 1,1011.5 pounds. Unfortunately, this alligator was killed by hunters in Alabama in 2014. As described by the taxidermist who prepared its skin and skeleton, this alligator had a partially digested deer carcass in its stomach, along with “squirrels, rocks, vegetation, other bones and what’s believed to be molars from a cow or other large livestock animal” (ref).

Over the course of the past year, I have spent a lot of time observing alligators in the wild. I have seen them eat fish (Blue Tilapia, Florida Gar, Bowfin, Black Crappie, Shad, Bluegill), water fowl, opossum, horseshoe crab, turtle (Florida Red-bellied Cooter), and other alligators. But I have never seen them eat deer (and this may be a relatively rare occurrence). I did however recently observe an interesting interaction between two deer and a group of alligators.

On June 11^th, 2024 I visited La Chua Trail in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, just outside Gainesville, Florida. From the opposite bank, I watched with curiosity as two white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) walked near the water’s edge directly past at least a dozen basking alligators.

These deer appeared alert to the danger. One deer actually stopped a few meters directly in front of a group of five alligators, which were all facing toward the deer, and intently stared them down. Three of the alligators became spooked by this and suddenly dashed into the water making a big commotion. The deer then continued walking past.

There are probably a few reasons these alligators didn’t go after the deer. First, the element of surprise was gone. The deer were alert, and deer are very fast. It appeared the deer stayed out of lunging distance. I’d imagine going after an adult deer carries a significant injury risk and perhaps only the largest alligators would even view them as prey. These alligators were basking and did not appear to be in hunting mode. Finally, they were probably full from eating fish. This event occurred during a period of drought when water levels were low. Very close by, fish were trapped in a shallow basin and there was a fish die off. So these alligators had likely been feasting on fish for the past two weeks.