Advertisement

Gator and python battle it out on Florida golf course

 
A gator and python battled on a Florida golf course recently. Golfers photographed the encounter and shared it on Facebook. Photo from Facebook, Dr. Richard Nadler.
A gator and python battled on a Florida golf course recently. Golfers photographed the encounter and shared it on Facebook. Photo from Facebook, Dr. Richard Nadler.
Published Jan. 16, 2018

It was gator vs. python on a Florida golf course recently.

The gator was victorious, though the creature sat still for hours — with the python's head in its jaws — as golfers took photos of the encounter. Photos of the bout have gone viral on social media.

According to a report from NBC2 the two creatures locked in battle on the 10th hole at Fiddler's Creek Golf Club in Naples on Friday.

Dr. Richard Nadler said he noticed a back-up of golfers at the hole and wasn't immediately sure what was causing it.

"We were asking them to please hurry up because everyone was waiting to tee off," he told the station.

"They drove back to explain to us that it was actually an alligator and python entwined. So that's what everyone was taking pictures of, that's what the back up was. So we drove toward the hole and we took a look at the animals and we took pictures and we continued with our golf game.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Will the cold snap kill any of Florida's pesky pythons? (Jan. 4)

"In this particular golf course, there is a lot of wildlife," he added. "It's an absolutely beautiful course, with tons of wildlife. We don't normally see these animals entwined or having a fight or fighting for their life or whatever, but in this case the alligator is wrapped with this python.

"They were absolutely still," he said. "There was no grappling going on -- nothing. The python's head was in the mouth of the alligator and the alligator was just sitting there absolutely still with his eyes wide open not moving. And he had all these people around him, these golf carts and people walking around taking photographs."

MORE GATOR COVERAGE: Chilly 'gators poke heads above ice to cope with bitter cold

Nadler posted photos of the encounter on Facebook, and they had been shared more than 20,000 times by Tuesday afternoon.

"It's been crazy," he told the station. "I even turned off notifications but I'm still getting notifications. The comments that I read, it was very interesting to read them. And so many people thought it was fake and photoshopped. It was very funny."

NBC2 reported that several people said the gator eventually dragged the snake into the water — so in this case, Gator 1, Python 0.

"Apparently there was no intervention and the next morning they were all gone and the assumption was that the alligator won and that was the end of it," Nadler said.