Huge gator in ‘no rush’ to cross path at popular Florida park. Watch it meander along
Alligators can be some of nature’s fiercest killers — that is, if they can muster up the energy to move their scaly bodies.
Michelle Siefken, a wildlife photographer from Lakeland, was walking in the Circle B Bar Reserve when she bumped into a family visiting the Florida reserve from the United Kingdom.
“When they first entered the trail and saw me they asked if I had seen any alligators,” Siefken told McClatchy News in a Facebook message. “I hadn’t seen any activity to that point, but as they continued on their way down the trail they ended up right near the main attraction!”
Siefken said a male alligator was bellowing from the grassy edge of the water.
Having spent lots of time observing the reserve’s animals, Siefken knew that the alligator was coming out, and getting ready to cross the path.
About 15 feet away, Siefken raised her camera and waited. She waited some more. Then she kept waiting.
“Once I saw the gator facing the trail and looking ready to climb up it took 5-10 minutes for him to make it through the trail side brush. He paused when he saw us. Then, it took him another five minutes to walk onto the trail before taking a moment when he again spotted us. It was probably another five minutes before he finally crossed to the other side of (the) trail,” Siefken said.
She caught the excruciatingly slow journey as the gator ooched itself across the narrow path in a video shared on her Instagram account Aug. 9.
The video credits said, “No rush… photo op anyone?”
“I’ve been fortunate enough to see this big guy cross three times in the past few weeks. He is on the larger size, but there are others that have been spotted nearing 12 feet,” Siefken said.
The reserve, a 1,267-acre property in Polk County, is a popular spot just an hour from Orlando’s theme parks for tourists and visitors to have an authentic Florida experience — seeing an alligator up close.
“Renowned by photographers and visitors from all over the world, Circle B is a premier destination for wildlife enthusiasts,” Siefken said.
She said the visiting family was incredibly excited and told her without her gut feeling about the alligator crossing, they “might never have had this experience.”
That gator might not be the best athletic representation of its species, but other visitors to Circle B have had similarly exciting encounters.
In 2022, visitors saw an alligator and vulture fighting over their meal on the edge of Lake Hancock, McClatchy News reported.
The standoff was caught on camera by a visitor through a series of videos and shared on the Facebook page Alligators of Florida.
Circle B again made gator news last year when the decomposing skeleton of a hunter was spotted by a hiker after getting a whiff of a “horrific smell,” McClatchy News reported.
The photos were shared in the same alligator Facebook group.
But nothing has topped the pure shock of a prehistoric monster making its way across a Circle B path in 2017.
The video, shared by the Lakeland Police Department, reached national attention for the sheer size of the gator walking through the busy reserve.
For Siefken, any opportunity to observe and appreciate wildlife in its natural habitat is worth it.
“As a wildlife photographer I am frequently at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. There are wonderful opportunities for close up photography and an amazing variety of birds (including migratory, wading, small birds, birds of prey) as well as alligators, other reptiles, and small mammals, including raccoons, bobcats, and opossums,” she said.
The Circle B Bar Reserve is located about 40 miles east of Tampa.
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