Huge, intimidating, armored beasts all decked out in bony spikes and dark leather – they are the rock stars of the reptile world! And I’m the paparazzi that follows them. What exhilarating photo subjects (sure beats baby photography!). Most of the time the gators lay there or slowly slide into the swamp water as you pass by. But occasionally they will make a dramatic, thrashing dive just to emphasize the super stars they really are.
The alligators in this video were found along the Middle Fork Suwannee River in the middle of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on May 5, 2021. My daughter is in the back of our canoe operating the trolling motor while I sit in the bow for a premium show as we glide through the tannin blackwater of this great Swamp.
iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/77936206
Okefenokee Photography Project by William Wise 