iNaturalist Project Reveals American Alligator's Diverse Appetite!
Fish and Reptiles top Alligator Prey Items on iNaturalist
In his 1935 book titled The Alligator's Life History, E.A. McIlhenny (of the Tabasco family) wrote, "It is quite safe to say that the food of the alligator at some period of its life, consists of every living thing coming in range of its jaws that flies, walks, swims, or crawls that is small enough for them to kill, and covers a tremendously wide range. After they reach three feet in length and larger, any creature inhabiting the land or water which they can catch and swallow is good food." This is no doubt a true statement!
© Photographer: William Wise
On November 19, 2020, I finished a review of over 19,000 American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) observations uploaded to iNaturalist between April 5, 2009 and November 19, 2020. Observations which depicted an American Alligator eating a prey item were annotated and added to the iNat Alligator Appetites Project. The result revealed a gruesome smorgasbord of dainties enjoyed by this giant reptile.
© Photographer: Scott Buckel | iNat Observation: 2462188
A review of the 107 observations added to the project to date, fish and reptiles nearly tied for the top prey items, with birds and mammals nearly tying in second place. A breakdown is as follows:
• Fish 26.1% (28 observations)
• Reptiles 25.2% (27 observations – 19 turtles, 4 alligators and 3 snakes)
• Birds 14.9% (16 observations - 4 Great Egrets, 2 Gallinules, 1 Red-winged Blackbird, 8 unknown bird species)
• Mammals 14.0% (15 observations – 4 feral pigs, 4 nutria, 3 raccoon, 1 deer, 1 opossum, 2 unknown mammal species)
• Unknown Prey 10.2% (11 observations with unidentifiable prey)
• Human handouts 7.4% (8 observations - raw chicken, marshmallows, fishing lures etc.)
• Other 1.8% (2 observations - 1 crab, 1 frog)
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William - fyi
Stephen N. Harris, Jordan B. Holmes, and David S. Jachowski "First Record of Consumption of a Spilogale putorius (Eastern Spotted Skunk) by an Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator)," Southeastern Naturalist 18(2), (31 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1656/058.018.0201
Published: 31 May 2019
Here, we detail the first confirmed consumption of a Spilogale putorius (Eastern Spotted Skunk) by an Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator, hereafter, Alligator). In April 2017 in Osceola County, FL, we tracked a radio-collared Eastern Spotted Skunk to a wetland and discovered its remains inside the stomach of a deceased Alligator. We conducted a necropsy on the Alligator, but were unable to definitively determine the cause of mortality for either the Alligator or the Eastern Spotted Skunk. We believe this event represents the first record of a crocodilian predating a mephitid. Although the cause of the Alligator's death was unconfirmed, we believe there is a possibility that the Alligator succumbed due to toxicosis brought on by its digestion of Eastern Spotted Skunk spray.
Scott Wright (hawksthree)
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