Alligator snatched drone during sheriff’s office training class, Florida video shows

Alligators are known to eat almost anything, and one proved that when it attacked a marine drone in southwest Florida — as the device was being used in law enforcement training.

The odd encounter happened just after noon on Friday, June 9, in Lee County, about 125 miles south of Tampa.

“While the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit was training in Fort Myers, this insta-gator latched on to the underwater drone!” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

The drone recorded the encounter, but its perspective is from below. That means viewers see the chin and white underbelly of the alligator rather than its jaws.

Video shows the alligator appeared to toy with the device, splashing water on it and dragging it around.

The sheriff’s office did not report damage was done.

Marine drones and sonar are used by the marine unit for a mission that includes patrolling waterways, performing rescues and conducting investigations of boating and swimming mishaps.

The video has been viewed nearly 8,000 times and gotten hundreds of reactions and comments on social media.

“And what did we learn from this training?” Carolyn Wigginton joked.

“It was probably thinking that thing would make a nice snack,” Cindy Uzzell wrote.

“You should not be playing with prehistoric animals! That’s a good way to get eaten,” Troy Fry said.

This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 7:19 AM with the headline "Alligator snatched drone during sheriff’s office training class, Florida video shows."