8-foot predator was nearly invisible in Florida mud. ‘Something caught my eye’

An 8-foot alligator was discovered perfectly disguised in the mud along a southwest Florida hiking trail, and photos of the startling sight have rattled social media.

It happened May 11 at the Bird Rookery Swamp Trail near Naples, and the alligator was about 10 feet away when wildlife photographer Alison Joslyn saw its vague outline.

At first, it appeared as if the alligator had melted, photos show.

“We came across a couple on the trail who asked us if we had seen ‘the gator in the mud.’ I couldn’t believe I had missed it!” Joslyn told McClatchy News.

“It was on the return that I spotted him as I was now determined to find him. Still I had walked nearly past but something caught my eye and I turned back to look more closely. Then I saw him. ... We watched for around 10 minutes. In that time we didn’t detect any movement”

The alligator’s stillness gave her the impression it might be dead, but there was no rancid odor and no bloating of the carcass, she noted.

A series of photos she shared on social media ignited a debate over what the alligator was up to, with many concluding it was using the mud as a cooling strategy during drought conditions. However, that made the sight no less intimidating.

“Imagine going for a hike and stepping on it,” Jshri Patel wrote on Facebook.

“Barely noticeable. That’s so scary!” Ellen Allen posted.

“Very cunning,” Belinda Rose said.

The alligator was spotted inside the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW), a vast block of wilderness that includes miles of trails through 54,000 protected acres, according to Crewtrust.org.

Joslyn noted rain was moving in the area as she left the trail, suggesting the alligator got a “much needed drenching.”

This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 7:32 AM with the headline "8-foot predator was nearly invisible in Florida mud. ‘Something caught my eye’."