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Each time I see this shot, it looks like this alligator is impersonating a triceratops, with that log appearing to come from the top of his head :)

Trailside find, as we walked the grounds at the Magnolia Gardens & Plantation. He was about 8 feet from us.

Zoom in for a really detailed look at his scales and "body armor". And those sharp pointy teeth.

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This smallish alligator swam up with the duck already captured, tried for 20 minutes to toss it back, and in the end swam away with it still gripped in its jaws. It was a Blue-winged Teal. It swam up at 4:54 pm, and swam away at 5:15.

View large.

This baby gator is sharing Mom's gator hole and enjoying her vigilant protection. (All sorts of things like to eat baby alligators!) But he hunts for himself, as he has since he hatched. He is benefiting from the rich concentration of fish and amphibians that have come to share Mom's gator hole, here towards the end of the winter-long dry season in the Everglades.

Adult gators gradually scoop out these holes over many seasons by thrashing their bodies, so each gator lives in its own, custom-made home. During the dry season these gator holes serve as refugia for everything in the Everglades that needs water -- that is, just about everything. Naturally, the gator welcomes its guests with open arms; they constitute a well-stocked larder. Then, when the summer rains come, the survivors repopulate the vast, re-flooded river of grass. The gator hole is thus an essential part of the Everglades ecosystem.

There were two sizes of young in the gator hole: this years babies (like this one) and the larger ones from last year's brood.

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

Alexander Springs Recreation Area
Ocala National Forest
Lake County Florida
Olympus OM-D E-M5
14-42mm II Lens
PT-EP08 Underwater Housing,
PPO-EP01 Lens Port
& 14-42mm Zoom Gear

Phil's 1stPix on 500px