This browser does not support the Video element.
Two large alligators fight in Lakeland park
Video shows two massive alligators in Circle B Bar Reserve fighting in the middle of a canal. (Courtesy thehankbagwell/IG)
LAKELAND, Fla. - It’s not unusual to see alligators at Circle B Bar Reserve, but seeing two giant gators fighting there is enough to stop anyone in their tracks.
That’s what happened to Hank Bagwell as he walked along the back edge of the Lakeland park Monday. He spotted one alligator and got out his camera, and that’s when he realized the gator was swimming up to another alligator.
The reptiles began fighting, thrashing about in a canal. Moments later, one of them slowly saunters out of the water -- its massive tail slowly swaying as it climbs the bank -- as the second alligator glares at him from the water.
“Oh my god, look at that,” Bagwell can be heard whispering to himself in the video. “They’re huge!”
The park, a former cattle ranch, is known as a great place to spot wildlife from birds to bobcats, but especially alligators. It even has a trail called “Alligator Alley,” portions of which are sometimes closed during mating season because the gators are so active.
Three years ago, video of a massive 12-foot alligator there got international attention.
It’s hard to tell from Bagwell’s video if one of Monday’s combatants was that same viral star, but either way, he said, it was just a “cool experience.”
“Neither of those gators were interested that I was there," he told FOX 13. “It was one of the most incredible things I’ve seen in the wild.”
RELATED:
- WATCH: Bobcat runs past visitors at Circle B Bar preserve
- Gargantuan alligator is big draw after viral video