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IF YOUR PERCEPTION of otters is of laid-back little animals who look cute in photos, prepare to have your world rocked.
A photographer at a wildlife refuge in Florida got these pictures of a large otter chomping into the back of an alligator and killing it.
The pictures were taken in 2011 by photographer Geoff Walsh but were posted on the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page this week. The giant wildlife park is made up of thousands of acres of marsh and swamps.
Reptile expert Terry Philip told National Geographic that otters are “voracious predators” who are at the top of the food chain in most places where they live.
Biting the alligator in the neck from behind is a clever trick which stops the alligator from being able to fight back in the way that it usually would, by swinging its head from side to side as it fights, Philip said.
Otters tend to eat their prey alive with their sharp teeth so it’s likely the alligator would have been stripped of its meat shortly after the pics were taken.
Lesson learned: Don’t EVER mess with an otter.
(All pics: Geoff Walsh/Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge)
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Thanks be to God, this kind of situations not always are ending in a good way.
a heartwarming story for a change. Great that all are safe.
If that happened over here there would probably be mostly Polish in it too
They are very lucky, good to see them all rescued
Thank god they are all safe and can reunite with their families
Thank god all are safe
Thank man they’re safe. After all it seems it was an ‘act of god’ that put them in danger….
After “earthquake hit” ??? Jesus… That “earthquake” was cause by the tunnel collapsing in the mine, not the other way around. Get it right lads.
Actually, there was a localised tremor that is understood to have caused the cave-in at the tunnel: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000fp74#summary
But thanks for the comment. For future reference: if you want to query anything with the author, there is a ‘Send a Correction’ button beside our details. Might be a nicer way of doing it.
Have a good one. Sinéad
Morning Sinead you are up early!
It’s is possible this was Induced Seismicity, caused by mining activity. Induced Seismicity is relatively common, it can happen when human activity causes weight on the Earth’s crust to change, it usually happens when new Dam are built and water in the reservoir presses down on the crust. The Rudna mine shifted 300 million tons or ore since mining began in 1974.
Gibowicz, S.J., Droste, Z., Guterch, B. & Hordejuk, J. 1981. The Belchatow, Poland, earthquakes of 1979 and 1980 induced by surface mining. Engineering Geology 17(4), 257–271.
Good news
Looks like I was right, just found this -
A SEARCH FOR SEQUENCES OF MINING-INDUCED SEISMIC EVENTS AT THE RUDNA COPPER MINE IN POLAND – Grzegorz KWIATEK
The largest earthquakes caused by the mine before this mag 4.6 event, were Mag 4.1 and 4.2.
Quick take the too a Man U game and get them on Leno!!
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