2 Alligators Found Eating Dead Body Found In Florida Everglades


Two alligators were found eating a dead body in the Florida Everglades on Monday night.

The Sun Sentinel reports that two fishermen noticed the gruesome sight and called the police after spotting the alligators eating the corpse. It took place in a canal west of U.S. 27 in the town of Southwest Ranches in western Broward County. Police say it appeared that the body had been in the water a long time.

It’s unknown what the person’s cause of death was.

When officers from the Davie Police Department attempted to scare off the alligators, Capt. Dale Engle said the animals moved but lingered nearby.

A dive team was called in to help retrieve the dead body that the two alligators were eating. There were officers armed with AR-15 rifles, prepared to shoot any alligators that posed a threat to them. An alligator trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was also called to the scene. The body was recovered by 10 p.m.

Carol Lyn Parrish, the spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said it was discovered that the body was that of a man. No other details were shared.

According to the report, a Broward County Medical Examiner will attempt to determine the cause of death.

“We want to identify who the victim is and possibly figure out what happened to them and how did they end up here,” said Sgt. Pablo Castaneda of the Davie Police. “Could it be homicide? Could it be suicide? Could it have involved a fisherman? We don’t know.”

Amy Moore, the spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said it wasn’t immediately clear if the victim was killed by alligators or if the reptiles were just feeding off someone’s remains.

“If we determine that an alligator was the cause, then we’ll go back and recover it,” Moore said.

An incident last December was similar when an accused burglar went missing and was killed by an 11-foot-long alligator. Bay News 9 reported that 22-year-old Matthew Riggins from Palm Bay was killed by a lurking alligator. His body was found 10 days after his disappearance, floating in a pond near Latan Court and Barefoot Circle, in Barefoot Bay. Investigators confirmed that it was an alligator attack.

It was believed to be in the middle of a burglary gone wrong that Riggins was snatched by the alligator, Maj. Tod Goodyear with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, said.

“He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator,” Goodyear said. “To hide somewhere to try and get away, and then meeting up with an animal like that, no, I’ve never had that happen before.”

“He hid in the wrong place,” said Laura Farris, a Barefoot Bay resident.

While this was a different scenario than that of the two alligators that were found eating a man’s dead body, the reptiles can be unpredictable in nature. It’s not every day an alligator kills someone, but in the wrong situation, they can be harmful to humans. That’s why it’s so important people are cognizant of their surroundings and exercise caution in waters known to have alligators.

Investigators will likely check to see if the dead body that the two alligators were eating on matches any records of missing persons. It also depends on how decomposed the corpse was, which wasn’t revealed by forensics.

[Photo Credit: Elliotte Rusty Harold/Shutterstock]

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