rockin'robin
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Photographer Says Gators Can't Tolerate Salt Water For Long
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A South Florida photographer recently captured a rare sight on camera in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach.
An American alligator was seen in a reef about a mile offshore, reported TV station WPBF.
Regularly found in freshwater lakes and rivers, alligators can tolerate salt water, but only for a short span of time.
The salt glands on the American alligator are nonfunctional, unlike that of its close cousin, the American crocodile, according to Laz Ruda's website, TheLivingSea.com.
Ruda said he was 60 feet below the ocean's surface when he saw the alligator.
"As I cruised along the sand, from the hazy distance I could see a dark shadow," Ruda writes. "Not being able to discern its shape too well I thought to myself, 'Holy cow! That's a huge stingray.'"
He said when he got closer, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"This creature was so out of place that I thought it was nothing more than a well-planned out hoax by my good friends," he said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called out to investigate, but the alligator had swam away by then and could not be found.
Ruda said FWC officials told him that gators will sometimes make their way out to the ocean, but if they stay out too long, they will lose their sight due to the salt water and eventually starve to death.
Fla. Man Snaps Rare Pics Of Gator In Ocean - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A South Florida photographer recently captured a rare sight on camera in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach.
An American alligator was seen in a reef about a mile offshore, reported TV station WPBF.
Regularly found in freshwater lakes and rivers, alligators can tolerate salt water, but only for a short span of time.
The salt glands on the American alligator are nonfunctional, unlike that of its close cousin, the American crocodile, according to Laz Ruda's website, TheLivingSea.com.
Ruda said he was 60 feet below the ocean's surface when he saw the alligator.
"As I cruised along the sand, from the hazy distance I could see a dark shadow," Ruda writes. "Not being able to discern its shape too well I thought to myself, 'Holy cow! That's a huge stingray.'"
He said when he got closer, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"This creature was so out of place that I thought it was nothing more than a well-planned out hoax by my good friends," he said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called out to investigate, but the alligator had swam away by then and could not be found.
Ruda said FWC officials told him that gators will sometimes make their way out to the ocean, but if they stay out too long, they will lose their sight due to the salt water and eventually starve to death.
Fla. Man Snaps Rare Pics Of Gator In Ocean - Irresistible News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
