The moment the alligator catches the drone. From devhlanger via TikTok
Welcome to Florida, a land of sunshine, beaches, formerly oranges, and of course, alligators. While most tourists expect to see an alligator near every home or theme park, Floridians know that these Triassic creatures keep relatively to themselves. You may find them in most swamps and some lakes, but they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.
Curious as we are, us Humans, we occasionally paddle our kayaks near them whilst they lay out sunbathing, or even trap them as allowed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from time to time. The safest view is usually from behind a glass wall looking in at an alligator’s zoological habitat, though a group of adventurous folks attempted a closer look – pitting 21st century technology against the might of an amphibious lizard leftover from the Middle Triassic Period (approx. 235-225 million year ago). The result: a smoke-breathing dinosaur eating a flying drone.
In a now viral TikTok video filmed in Florida’s Everglades, a gator once looking for its next meal was being examined up close by a camera-equipped drone. As it hovered a foot above the swampy waters, the hungry fellow below swooped violently upward, snatched its mechanical lunch and crushed it handily within its jaws. If that wasn’t wild enough for the drone operator and on-lookers, the subsequent fume escaping from the gator’s mouth birthed a living bog dragon before their very eyes.
The Everglades National Park Service took to Instagram, summing the experience up quite clearly: “Drones and Alligators don’t mix.” If that wasn’t obvious enough, they reminded their followers that harassment of wildlife is prohibited and results squarely in a $5,000 fine. Florida is indeed wild and sees its share of death matches, but for now the machine vs. alligator record stands 0-1.
See you on the trail,
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 9-7-21
