Crab Fishing

I was watching this young alligator sloshing around in the salt marsh yesterday afternoon and he seemed to be mostly scooping up mouthfuls of small fish and glass shrimp. Suddenly the gator lifted his head up out of the water and I saw it had a fresh caught blue crab.

He crunched on the crab for a few seconds then lifted his head and neck up out of the water and swallowed his treat right down.

In the last photo I thought he had kind of a happy, satisfied look on his face. It was quite likely his first crab of the season and he seemed to really enjoy it!

24 thoughts on “Crab Fishing”

pamelasphotos on April 22, 2015 at 1:47 pm said:

What great photo’s! I love seeing your photo’s.
Can wait to visit there again, will be there in Oct. this
year, not sure how many photo ops there will be that
time of year but looking forward to it.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 2:00 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much for looking and commenting!
  October could still be good. If you are real lucky there may be some spoonbills around, we have had a few stay into early November in the past.
  
  Reply ↓
Raewyn's Photos on April 22, 2015 at 5:09 pm said:

Great series of photos. He certainly seemed to enjoy his little delicacy.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 9:03 pm said:
  
  These guys absolutely love fresh crabs. Lucky for them they have access to the salt side of the marsh.
  
  Reply ↓
Pat on April 22, 2015 at 7:21 pm said:

He does look happy.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 9:04 pm said:
  
  I’m sure he was and he will come back for more soon I’m betting.
  
  Reply ↓
anotherday2paradise on April 22, 2015 at 8:51 pm said:

He looks really pleased with himself. 🙂 Great photos a gain, Phil.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 9:05 pm said:
  
  He does look especially pleased with his crabby snack doesn’t he?! 😀
  
  Reply ↓
Gunta on April 22, 2015 at 9:11 pm said:

What a smug look that last one is!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 10:14 pm said:
  
  I know! He’s looking at me like he’s thinking… “Did you get shots of that? Cool right?!”
  
  Reply ↓
donna213 on April 22, 2015 at 9:41 pm said:

Crunch, crunch, crunch, yum. Beautiful photos Phil. I bet it made you hungry too.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 10:16 pm said:
  
  Oh there was crunching going on! Between the crab and the shrimp he had jumping out of the water all over the place, I was thinking about a seafood dinner for me. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Girl Gone Expat on April 22, 2015 at 10:05 pm said:

Very good picture, fun to see some ‘action’ 🙂 The alligator is beautiful with all the details in its skin!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 22, 2015 at 10:19 pm said:
  
  Alligators do a lot more than most people think.
  The younger ones can often be quite attractive with their colorful stripey accents! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
naturesnippets on April 22, 2015 at 10:55 pm said:

Fantastic pictures! Seeing his colors wet and clean makes them surprisingly vivid.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 23, 2015 at 12:08 am said:
  
  Yeah they do look better when wet, but the younger ones have all the cute colorful stripes which is even better. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Linda on April 23, 2015 at 9:08 am said:

He has good taste in food!!! Very vivid and clear, your pictures are so detailed with everything, great shots!!!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on April 23, 2015 at 9:37 am said:
  
  I’m sure he was thrilled with his crunchy snack. Crabs are a big fave for these guys and that ‘smile’ at the end tells the story. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Charlie@Seattle Trekker on April 23, 2015 at 5:46 pm said:

Wow…Now that is a truly bad day.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on May 3, 2015 at 11:43 am said:
  
  Bad day for crabby, no question.
  
  Reply ↓
foxleylady on April 24, 2015 at 11:57 am said:

That eye is sparkling! Love the smile, as well!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on May 3, 2015 at 11:44 am said:
  
  He is happy with his crunchy snack!
  
  Reply ↓
The Lite Rider on April 25, 2015 at 5:51 pm said:

That smile at the end says it all! Nice treats for him, and he looks satisfied.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on May 3, 2015 at 11:45 am said:
  
  He does look quite pleased with himself there at the end. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓