Drone operators lose their precious rigs to all sorts of hazards. Some ill-fated devices meet their demise with jets of lava flying out of Icelandic volcanoes. Others fall victim to high winds and wayward tree branches. However, a drone operator probably doesn’t expect to lose their expensive technology to a classic Florida predator. And no, this time it’s not the Florida man.

A Florida man is down one drone after a sneaky alligator snatched it right out of the air

You’ve likely heard the jokes comparing Florida to “Jurassic Park.” There are jests about the mosquito being the state bird and alligators being literal dinosaurs. Well, the latter isn’t far from the truth; the alligator evolved from the large reptiles that survived the K-T extinction of the dinosaurs. Incidentally, one Florida man learned just how capable an alligator can be at the expense of his drone.

An Instagram post shows the little four-propeller device hovering above a relatively still body of water. The drone rotates back and forth, maintaining its altitude. However, just below the drone, the unmistakable snout of an alligator pokes out of the water. For a moment, the gator seems to simply study the airborne visitor.

However, a moment later, the alligator uses its powerful tail to propel itself straight up and out of the water up to its hind legs. It clamps down on the drone, pulling it down into the water. The rest of the video shows the gator chomping down on the wounded drone. I don’t think this Florida man is getting that drone back anytime soon. 

Now, from the looks of the short social media video, the operator had no intent of moving the device away from the alligator. The drone was hovering just a couple of feet above the glassy water when the gator attacked it. And the device didn’t make any visible attempt to avoid its fate.

Understandably, some viewers were concerned about the alligator’s health. One viewer commented, “not cool….what if he swallows it? the batteries?” Another concerned commenter responded with “Now he’s going to have a bunch of metal and plastic in his belly along with the freakin batteries.”

Check out a short video below of the skyward alligator snatching the drone right out of the air!