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People are only just discovering the 'terrifying' speed of an alligator on land

Home> News> Animals

Published 14:18 12 Oct 2023 GMT+1

People are only just discovering the 'terrifying' speed of an alligator on land

People have learnt that alligators run much faster on land than expected.

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

If you were already scared of alligators, then this will be probably freak you out even more.

There are only two remaining species of the 150 million-year-old reptile; the American alligator and the Chinese alligator.

Louisiana and Florida have the highest population of alligators in the states, while the Chinese alligator mainly resides in Yangtze river, primarily in the Anhui and Zhejiang provinces in eastern China.

As you probably know, the ginormous reptiles mainly live in water.

Despite this, they can still move pretty fast on land - much faster than you'd expect.

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The average weight of an alligator is around 230kg for a male and 91kg for a female and, with their hefty stature in mind, you wouldn't think they would be able to move that fast.

Alligators can reach speeds of 30mph on land.
Gregory Sweeney/Getty Stock Image

But they can actually hit speeds of 30mph. Horrifying? I know.

This is only in short bursts though; but if you're within 10 feet of a gator and you've p*ssed it off, you could be in trouble.

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A video has been shared online of how fast a gator and go when they have one of these 'bursts', and people have labelled it as both 'amazing' and 'terrifying'.

"It's amazing, and also terrifying how quickly these creatures can move," one person penned.

"When you realize you're not faster than alligator," quipped another.

"That’s terrifying," added a third, as someone else admitted that they flinched just watching the clip.

While alligators can move fast, it's not very often that they do.

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In fact, their average on-land seen hovers more around 9.5 to 11mph.

AZ Animals explained: "Alligators will rarely exert themselves for more than 100 feet.

"They’re sedentary creatures that have adapted to have very quick and powerful movements when prey comes near them and are generally not active hunters that chase down prey."

It's rare that alligators attack humans, but 'aberrant behavior may occur', said Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.

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"Serious and repeated attacks usually are made by alligators over 8 feet in length and are probably attributed to chase and feeding behavior," the medical journal added.

An example of this occurred in recent weeks after a 14-foot alligator was caught carrying a human body down a river in Florida.

The 14-foot alligator was spotted carrying a body.
Fox WTVT

Emergency crews were rushed to a park in Largo, around half an hour from Tampa, last month and arrived hoping to rescue the corpse and investigate how the person was killed.

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The body was later confirmed to be that of a 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham and the authorities humanely killed the alligator.

As it stands, it remains unclear if the reptile was responsible for the woman's death.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/TeamTiny Tech And Pets

Topics: Animals, News

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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@niamhshackleton

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