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American Alligators are opportunistic feeders and have been know to prey on snakes, including venomous snakes such as cottonmouth and rattlesnakes but they also prey on large constrictors such as the invasive Burmese Python in South Florida. Regardless, killing a most snakes is not an easy task even for Florida's top predator.

Alligators prefer to drown their prey and would keep it submerged for a few minutes before swallowing it whole. This killing technique might work well with birds and mammals but it certainly doesn't work quite as well with the venomous cottonmouth, which can stay underwater for about thirty minutes. Again and again, the alligator bites down on its prey in an attend to kill and swallow it before any larger alligators take not of his catch. In a fight for its life, the highly venomous cottonmouth attends to bite its predator, yet adult alligators have developed immunity to such attacks, subsequently a venomous snakes bite is of little consequence to any adult alligators. But the same can not be said for new born alligators, which have not developed such a resistance to snake venom. This makes alligator hatchlings extremely vulnerable to attacks from venomous snakes. Reptiles such as this cottonmouth don't die easily due to their ectothermic nervous system. Yet its sever internal injuries from the sharp alligator's teeth will eventually weaken it enough to be swallowed while still alive. It is not uncommon for adult alligators to even prey on notorious eastern diamondback rattlesnakes but also large rattlesnakes stalk frequently alligator hatchlings too. The rattlesnake's venom paralyzes the young alligator in minutes before it will be eaten alive. After thirty long minutes of fighting for its life, the cottonmouth seems exhausted and it will take only a brief moment for the alligator to finally devour his meal. Alligator eats Snake was filmed by Heiko Kiera aka Ojatro in 2014.

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