Sharks and alligators are two of the planet’s fiercest predators, but you wouldn’t normally think you’d catch them in the same place. But that’s exactly what one shocked tourist saw earlier this month at the waterside restaurant Skull Creek Dockside Hilton Head, South Carolina.
What Happened in the Viral Video?
“My family and I had just sat down to order our drinks when one of the managers came up to us and mentioned that there were sharks and an alligator out on the boat dock,” said Gina Athans, a tourist visiting from Chicago, to The Island Packet. “My first thought was ‘there’s no way they’re hanging out in the water together.’”
But indeed they were. Athans shared a clip of the fearsome encounter, which quickly went viral. The clip shows a group of sharks swimming next to a dock, followed by an alligator lingering just feet away. In total, there’s nearly half-a-dozen creatures inhabiting a very small area, while shocked onlookers
@ginaroseathans Can’t believe we saw this in #HiltonHeadIsland #SkullCreekDockside this week! #lemonsharks #alligators
Do Sharks and Alligators Typically Interact in the Wild?
Alligators typically inhabit freshwater, although they can tolerate brackish water like that found in many areas around Hilton Head according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Thus, the sighting wasn’t entirely unprecedented. Still, it’s rare to see large specimens of both species in the same area like this.
Plus, alligators are never full-time saltwater inhabitants.
“Unlike crocodiles, alligators do not have salt-secreting glands, so they can’t live in saltwater permanently,” Zack Jud, director of education and exhibits at Florida Oceanographic Society, previously explained. “Instead, they travel back and forth between freshwater and saltwater habitats.”