My eyewitness account and photograph of an alligator trying to eat a football and getting rescued, originally published on the Everglades National Park Facebook page, has gone viral! The Miami Herald, Newsweek, and the Belleville News-Democrat have picked up the story. I didn't think to include any football puns in my report because I don't follow the sport and don't speak football lingo. Luckily, the news outlets and public commenters can fill in with sporting humor. For example, Newsweek's headline: "Alligator Tossing Football Brings New Meaning to 'Go Gators' in Florida." :)
https://www.facebook.com/EvergladesNationalPark/posts/pfbid02CkYvKcp2gBFbFhRexd3ULikiRo4PcmLKBkpjTQwBuNnyyAHCD9m8hYeeA1VidZVl
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article262615282.html
Here is the post as seen on the Everglades National Park Facebook Page:
On May 31 at Shark Valley, a park visitor spotted an alligator with a football in his jaws off the Tram Trail near the visitor center. The visitor reported the situation to park rangers.
This bull gator was familiar to the rangers as he is often seen at the start of tram tours with a female (or cow) gator he is courting and her young offspring. The gator held his head high in the air, with his jaws firmly gripping the football as though it were prey. He tossed the football and caught it again, adjusting his grip. The rangers called park crocodilian biologist Mark Parry.
Upon learning of the situation, the biologist headed to Shark Valley from park headquarters in Homestead, Florida. Luckily, the gator crushed his “prey” at a measured pace and was still working on it when Mark Parry arrived. Using two long poles and rope, he attempted to snatch the football; the gator dropped it and was thus saved from ingesting leather and plastic.
Shark Valley rangers have added the football to their collection of props for interpretive programs. We don’t know if the littering that caused this event was deliberate or accidental, such as from playing catch in an inappropriate location. The lucky alligator continues to delight visitors on the Tram Trail, as they walk, bike, or ride trams past!
NPS photo 1 by Ross Studlar
NPS photo 2 by Dylann Turffs
Image 1: An alligator behind some vegetation with a football in its mouth.
Image 2: A hand hold up the recovered football covered in alligator bite marks.
NPS FB post and pictures are in the public domain.
