Sharks And Stingrays Are Alligator Lunch
- 6 years ago
Sharks and stingrays are fish food for American alligators.
They aren't munching down on adult great whites — instead, stingrays chow down on nurse, lemon, and bonnethead sharks ranging from three to five feet long. Researchers confirmed the phenomenon by pumping the stomachs of 500 live alligators. Their usual far consists of turtles, fish, and small mammals, but the alligators also hunt sharks along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where they sometimes venture into each other's waters.
Great for the gators — but maybe not so good for the sharks.
They aren't munching down on adult great whites — instead, stingrays chow down on nurse, lemon, and bonnethead sharks ranging from three to five feet long. Researchers confirmed the phenomenon by pumping the stomachs of 500 live alligators. Their usual far consists of turtles, fish, and small mammals, but the alligators also hunt sharks along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where they sometimes venture into each other's waters.
Great for the gators — but maybe not so good for the sharks.