Study Shows that Alligators Eat Sharks and Stingrays themindguild.com/alligators-eat-sharks-stingrays September 21, 2017
Amazingly, a recent study has shown that alligators eat sharks and stingrays. We all know that alligators will gobble up just about anything that their jaws can reach. The man who led the study, James Nifong, who is an ecologist from at Kansas State University, said this is very surprising as alligators have long been considered to be freshwater predators. The thing is that when Nifong began asking alligator gurus as to whether they had ever heard of these reptiles eating elasmobranchs —the official name of the group which includes sharks, and stingrays—many of them assumed that this was a joke he was playing on them. After some persistence Nifong confirmed four instances where an alligator consumed a nurse shark, a lemon shark, a bonnethead shark, as well as a stingray. He also managed to uncover a few historical accounts showing where sharks had preyed on American alligators, which suggests that these two carnivores go at each other much more often than previously thought. As Nifong stated in his findings that were published in the Southeastern Naturalist: “Both are known for their extreme eating habits, and both are highly opportunistic predators. So, when presented with a potential opportunity to feed, they are not likely to pass it up.”
Characterizing the Battles between Sharks and Alligators The observation of shark and gator confrontations is actually pretty rare for a few reasons. To begin with, both animals can be quite difficult to observe and follow in their natural coastal habitats. Additionally, alligators usually consume sharks that are considerably smaller than the shark on Jaws. Thus, these sharks would probably look like just another fish to a typically onlooker. 1/2