Silent Hunter

We were watching an alligator quietly feeding in the marsh this afternoon. He kept going into stealth mode, diving under the water and staying down for quite a while. That’s how we knew he was serious.

You could see swirls in the water where he was fishing and he was eating whatever he caught under the water as well, I never saw him come up and chew anything.

He would go under facing in one direction and then surface facing the other. He went back and forth patrolling only a relatively small area but he covered every inch of it.

This guy meant business.

19 thoughts on “Silent Hunter”

donna213 on April 3, 2015 at 7:31 pm said:

Sneaky… I guess looking for bubbles is not a reliable clue. I really like that first photo. It tells the gator’s story.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 3, 2015 at 7:52 pm said:
  
  I have had one blow bubbles at me a couple of times and each time I did not get the feeling it was playing. 😮
  
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Linda on April 3, 2015 at 8:16 pm said:

The first picture tells the whole story, looks prehistoric, wow you were close…..maybe he was looking to eat your camera and equipment????? Not good……love the shot as always.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 12:06 pm said:
  
  He was giving me a bit of a look but mostly just ignored me which is how I like it.
  
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foxleylady on April 4, 2015 at 6:28 am said:

Nature’s submarines, silent and deadly! Thea and I are united on this one!

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- Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 12:07 pm said:
  
  Natures submarines, I like that! If you would have seen just his dark silhouette under the water yesterday you would would really know how accurate that description is! 🙂
  
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anotherday2paradise on April 4, 2015 at 6:56 am said:

Looks like the cousin of the one in my backyard lake. 🙂 Love the first pic. Quite surreal.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 12:08 pm said:
  
  It could be a relative. Do they all have plans for an Easter get together! They LOVE Easter bunnies too! 😀
  
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  - anotherday2paradise on April 4, 2015 at 12:13 pm said:
    
    I’m sure they do. 😯
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 2:35 pm said:
      
      Right now we are just getting started with baby duckie season in the ponds by us. Momma mallards are beginning to bring out their broods much to the delight of the resident snapping turtles unfortunately. She might start out with a dozen but will be lucky to end up keeping two or three.
      
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      - anotherday2paradise on April 4, 2015 at 3:00 pm said:
        
        😦
        
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        Phil Lanoue on April 5, 2015 at 12:00 pm said:
        
        The hawks and raccoons are yet another threat. It can be rough out there.
        
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Pat on April 4, 2015 at 10:01 am said:

Love all of these, especially the first one of the gator surfacing.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 12:10 pm said:
  
  Thank you. I had to wait a while for him to pop back up. I usually don’t see one spend that much time under water.
  
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Raewyn's Photos on April 4, 2015 at 2:47 pm said:

Great photos. Rather creepy to be honest.

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- Phil Lanoue on April 4, 2015 at 5:53 pm said:
  
  Well… he may indeed appear a but creepy, but that’s also part of his charm. 🙂
  
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Patrizia M. on April 4, 2015 at 5:50 pm said:

Aveva molta fame a quanto pare.
Splendidi scatti Phil.
Buona Pasqua, Pat

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- Phil Lanoue on April 5, 2015 at 12:01 pm said:
  
  Grazie Pat and Happy Easter!
  
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JW on April 8, 2015 at 8:49 am said:

That first shot is AWESOME!

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