Our Herp Class: River Otter versus Alligator

Thursday, March 13, 2014

River Otter versus Alligator

When you picture a river or swamp, the top predator that most likely comes to mind is the mighty alligator. With its large jaw, tough skin, sharp teeth, and massive body its hard to imagine that this beast of the water could be defeated by a small bodied mammal that many wouldn't consider a threat: the river otter. In a recent National Geographic article, the whole take-down-scene is chronicled as the 30 pound otter attacks and overpowers the five foot alligator in Florida's Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. A reptile expert goes through and breaks down the process for those of us who may be skeptical of how exactly this could happen. Apparently, unlike the cuddly otters you see playing with toys at the zoo, river otters are ferocious killers who are at the top of the food chain in almost any place they live. Otters frequently over power and consume large animals including snakes, raccoons, and some turtles.The author of this article doesn't seem surprised by the otter attacking the alligator as much as he is startled by the otter choosing such a large, non-juvenile alligator (possibly 4 years old)! The alligator in this picture is very large even for vicious otter standards, meaning that the otter must have been desperate for food. We know that alligators move their heads from side to side and have a rather limited range of other directions, well the otter takes advantage of this and grabs the alligator by the back of the neck. You may be saying, 'how could an otter bite through the tough skin of an alligator?' well you would be right, so the otter merely holds on and waits for the alligator to wear itself out. As we understand of alligator's attack strategy, they are fast bursting high energy fighters who do not have significant stamina, that means that after thrashing for a certain period of time the alligator builds up too much lactic acid and goes weak. This is when the otter seizes the opportunity to drags the alligator onto land and basically eats it starting with the softer under tissues while the alligator is still immobile. The otter may have won this time but this unexpected rivalry between the two beasts of the river will undoubtedly rage on!

Final Score:
Otter-1 Alligator-0