Boat crosses river full of frantic alligators
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When Ray Carson took his boat out to go fishing one morning early July, he didn't expect the impressive greeting he'd get upon arriving at his usual fishing spot: several hundred frantic, starving alligators were barring his way. He crossed the canal unscathed and had the nerve to take out his camera and film the strange spectacle.
When Ray Carson took his boat out to go fishing one morning early July, he didn’t expect the impressive greeting he’d get upon arriving at his usual fishing spot: several hundred frantic, starving alligators were barring his way. He crossed the canal unscathed and had the nerve to take out his camera and film the strange spectacle.
Ray Carson works for a US telephone company. He lives in Clinch County, Georgia.
It happened on July 10, around 6 in the morning. I took my little boat out, like I do every weekend, to go fishing in the Stephen C. Foster State Park. I’m used to seeing alligators, but I had never seen anything like this before.
The creek where I keep my boat tied up was already full of alligators, but the real show came later, when I started heading down the canal. There were at least 150 alligators jumping and struggling in just a few inches of water. They were completely overexcited, caught up in a sort of collective feeding frenzy.
Apparently this behaviour is caused by the heat wave we’ve experienced these past weeks, which has nearly dried up the river beds, so the fish have to cram into the remaining water holes. It’s pretty strange, but the alligators seem to have had the same reflex: they grouped together in a small, space, but then went crazy for about 40 minutes, jumping and lashing out in the shallow water.
What I saw was really impressive: the alligators were biting out at everything that came near them. They were even attacking each other. Somehow I wasn’t that scared, though. I’ve lived here all my life and am completely used to the alligators. I managed to cross the spot they were in without being attacked.
I didn’t realize at first that my video was that impressive. It was only after I posted it on Facebook, and I got so many views and comments on my profile, that I noticed people were amazed by what they saw. I took the video off my profile and sent it to the local newspaper, the Clinch County News. They’re the ones who published it on YouTube. Since then, the little film I shot has gotten at least 100,000 views! I still can’t believe it."