Alligator engages in strange display at Florida park, igniting debate. See the video
Alligators are notorious for their so-called “death rolls,” but video shows something entirely different when one appeared to be dancing at the Orlando Wetlands.
Mia Erickson Stevens was standing on a boardwalk at the park when an alligator began to sway, rhythmically bounce its head up and down and smack its jaws.
It happened Sunday, March 16, and went on for more than 5 minutes, giving Stevens time to record multiple videos.
She shared one clip with the Alligators of Florida Facebook group, hoping some of its 126,000 followers could offer a sensible explanation.
“At first, I thought he was eating but not really sure because we never saw anything,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “What do you think?”
The video had been viewed more than 14,000 times as of March 20, and the viewers couldn’t seem to reach a consensus. Some suggested she witnessed a feeding practice, while others wondered if the alligator was in distress.
“There may be something stuck in the back of his maw like a fish hook or bone he can’t get down!” Noreen Quincey posted.
“Alligators will do that when they’re searching for food in the water. That’s how they ‘feel’ around. They’ll move with their jaws open and hopefully something will get in between their jaws,” Todd Reineccius wrote.
McClatchy News shared the video with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the department’s experts offered a theory.
“This alligator appears to be in shallow water and attempting to grab something off the bottom,” FWC said in an email.
“It may be either struggling to grasp it or is trying to collect multiple items. This could be a piece of food or even rocks to be used as gastroliths to assist with digestion or buoyancy. Since alligators’ eyes are positioned on the tops of their heads, they have a limited view of smaller objects directly in front of them, obstructed by their long snouts. To compensate, alligators primarily rely on touch or turning their heads to the side to locate food items at close range.”
Alligators are known to engage in a “water dance” during courtship, but the moves are nothing like what Stevens recorded. Courting alligators slap their heads against the surface, arch their backs and vibrate to cause water to dance off their backs.
As for the notorious “death roll,” that happens when alligators grab prey in their jaws and spin their entire bodies to render the prey helpless (or drown it).
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 6:23 AM with the headline "Alligator engages in strange display at Florida park, igniting debate. See the video."