Just when we thought alligators couldn’t get anymore terrifying, a new photo has emerged that confirms their ability to climb trees. Yes, trees.
The picture was taken a week ago by Ronald Saracino, a southwest Florida resident who said he was shocked to see what appeared to be an alligator resting on a tree branch.
“[I] saw something in a tree, at first I thought maybe it was a lizard,” Saracino toldWINK News. “The more I looked at it, the more I thought it was actually probably a 5-foot gator […] I know people are not going to believe it, but I [sic] 100 percent believe it was a gator!”
Though there’s a widespread belief that alligators are ground-bound creatures, researchers are well aware of their strong climbing capabilities. There's even an entire study dedicated to this behavior.
“They are more agile than people give them credit for,” Amy Sera, an educator at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers, told WINK. “I’ve seen picture of crocodiles doing that behavior. It gives them a little bit better view of their territory.”
Wildlife officials analyzed Saracino’s photo and agreed that there’s a high probability that the figure is, in fact, an alligator—judging by its size and shape. Though it isn’t 100 percent confirmed, the image does serve has a horrific reminder that these animals can be hiding out in trees. Just one more thing for us to be paranoid about.
