Alligator Does Death Roll on Rival Gator in Territorial Battle | World Wild Web

A pair of female alligators performed a death roll on each other during their epic territorial battle.

Jamie Murdoch was out in central Florida, USA, on August 2023 when she spotted two huge female gators in a small patch of water where both of their nests had been.

Dramatic footage shows the two eight-foot-long reptiles stalking each other before lunging at each other with their powerful jaws.

Due to low water levels, the two alligators performed death rolls on each other as they desperately tried to chase their rival from the water.

Jamie said: “I was so excited watching it all unfold. It made my day. If not for the heat, I would have stayed through it all.

“I have never seen this behaviour before between two females, which is what made it so unique and very interesting to watch.

“The fight was still going on for more than a couple of hours. It was a territorial dispute and they were going to fight until one of them gave up.

“The water levels were low, it was hot, and both of them were irritated that they were both in the same desired space.

“The gators were of equal size and were trying to intimidate each other, so one would leave. When that didn't work, they would hold each other under water, and would latch on and roll around in the water.

“It was a behaviour I have never witnessed before in the wild, a real battle of wills.

“In 2015, I started going to central Florida parks to film gators in the wild and try and get as much natural behaviour as possible. Anything from mating, hunting, fighting, caring for their young.”