The Great Egret isn’t a small bird. I say this for perspective. This Alligator is significantly larger. Actually you’re seeing about half of the animal. Roughly 50% of an Alligators size is their tail.
So, that’s a big Gator!
The Egret looks like he was figuring his next move.
ACE Basin, South Carolina.
Do the aligators ever get the birds?
Oh yeah. Not very often though. I once saw a gator jump 8 feet in the air snapping at a low flying Great Blue. He missed. Alligators always go for the easy prey. They are also scavengers. A hungry one will eat anything, which is why it’s worse to find one at a community pond rather than a swamp. A lot less options in the local pond.