Alligator clamped down on python and was whipping it around, Florida video shows

One of the invasive Burmese pythons plaguing South Florida met its demise in the jaws of an alligator, and the grisly scene played out in full view of tourists at Everglades National Park.

Video shared on social media shows the alligator was seen tossing around the “freshly killed” python in an attempt to rip it apart.

Wildlife photographer Alison Joslyn reports she witnessed the rarely seen feeding on Friday, Aug. 8, near the park’s 70-foot-high Shark Valley Observation Tower.

“The gator was at the edge of an airboat launch, shaking his head around and the movement caught my eye. ... It seemed like he was periodically trying to eat it, with limited success, and then he would rest with it in his mouth,” Joslyn told McClatchy News.

“He was very possessive of the carcass. He would throw his head up and kind of toss the snake around a bit, I suspect trying to tear a piece off that he could then swallow. He was very aware of me and moved off, I suspect because he was worried I would try to take that tasty morsel from him.”

The alligator was estimated to be around 9 feet long, while the snake was about 7 feet, she says.

“Hard to say with the snake, as it was missing the head,” Joslyn said.

She suspects the head was ripped off by the alligator a day earlier.

Both reptiles are apex predators, but pythons are an invasive species in Florida. Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia and made their way to the U.S. via the exotic pet trade, experts say. The snakes were either set free or escaped, and found a perfect environment with no natural enemies, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports.

Still, there is little doubt 800-pound bull alligators remain “the king reptile of the Everglades,” according to Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

“We typically lose one or two adult tagged research pythons to alligator predation each year,” he told McClatchy News in an email. “We also observe alligators consumed by adult pythons in southwestern Florida but this is more frequent in the eastern Everglades where large mammals are less common.”

Pythons are constrictors, known to grip prey in their jaws, coil around it, then squeeze until the victim capitulates.

Alligators have a more straightforward approach, which likely explains why the python in the video was missing its head.

Eating the snake was clearly a challenge for the gator, which was seen hauling around the “ripe” carcass for days, Joslyn said.

“Not as easy as you might think, given (alligator) teeth and jaws are designed to crush and hold but not to chew. He will need to tear off chunks that can be swallowed whole,” she said.

Joslyn says it’s the third time since 2023 she has seen an alligator eating a python in the Everglades.

“I keep hoping that this is a behavior that the gators are learning and adopting. That would be awesome! But it still seems quite rare unfortunately,” she said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 4:54 AM with the headline "Alligator clamped down on python and was whipping it around, Florida video shows."