WARNING! These photos aren't suitable for everyone

                                            Victims of the Alligators of Carolina

WARNING: THESE PHOTOS MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN OR THOSE  INDIVIDUALS SENSITIVE TO ANIMALS HUNTING AND FEEDING ON OTHER ANIMALS

                                                RELAXING IN SOUTH CAROLINA

If you embrace the hypothesis that the relationship between the numerous alligators that populate the south and shore birds is mostly symbiotic, this may shock you. 

It's true that many of the birds in the southeast prefer to build their nests over water and alligators resultantly cruise those waters preventing racoons and snakes from getting to the birds eggs and chicks. That would indicate a relationship that benefits both.  That doesn't by any means however prove that alligators actually choose to protect those species, and that the sea birds are programmed to build their nests to lure food for the 'gators. Read on.

If I've learned anything about predicting animal behavior from studying, photographing, and working with them all these years, it's that they're not necessarily predictable and consistent in how they behave, whether they be nesting, migrating, or hunting.  I've seen a Great Blue Heron in Hilton Head stalked by a young alligator at dinnertime. Surprisingly however, the Heron suddenly made an about face, turned and stared down the small gator, sending him on a rapid retreat, heron tenaciously in tow.  

That's also the reason wildlife photography has become a passion with so many of us. My experience on the day these particular photos were taken however, I'd never seen or anticipated. They only inspired me to get outside even more and continue seeking the unusual Mother Nature always provides. 

One of the favorite things for tourists I've observed in the south are the alligators - especially in their natural environments. They're extremely popular in South Carolina. There's even a special attraction that's become more popular every year called Alligator Adventure. Alligators can be observed in their natural habitat, and our experience was that the most popular is feeding time.  Alligators have a somewhat unique and a distinctive feeding style I'd read but never experienced not staged in the wild.

One of the things they frequently do is to store their kill for another day, and often they choose to hide it under a rock.  While the young gator above appeared to be unusually relaxed despite my presence and close proximity, there's far more to the story than that.

As I sat photographing this particular gator kept watching me, cruising back and forth a bit nervously looking up the hill.  After a few more times cruising by me, he slowly and cautiously began his ascent, stopping briefly along the way so I titled this photo "Relaxing in South Carolina" for obvious reasons. 

Thinking that I should move because for whatever reason he was simply afraid to complete his repeated attempts to climb the hill beside me, I ultimately did move farther away from this apparently special spot. That was when he began his ascent.

What happened when he got to the top of the hill however, I admit was shocking.    As I sat shooting photos, he was actually interested in retrieving his prey he'd stashed earlier - it turns out right beside where I was sitting.  He purposefully put his nose under a rock and methodically slid out a dead juvenile Ibis. Clearly he remembered exactly where he'd tucked his kill.  Admittedly it was disturbing, but others with me agreed that it was far less disturbing than if we'd seen it actually kill the young bird. 

Even though he was young, he still went through the exact motions, burned into his DNA through millenniums of tossing and thrashing it like it was still alive. 

As the gator took his time, cruising, shaking and tossing, the sun peeked in and out of the clouds. As it began to set coloring the water, the large Wood Storks meandered over close by, despite the drama unfolding before them.

Ultimately the alligator succeeded in decapitating his prey and as it grew dark, he swam into the shadows to eat what he'd braved a humans presence to retrieve.