I observed apparent interspecific play between an American alligator and a river otter (Lontra canadensis) in Big Cypress National Preserve (Florida, USA), in a bayou inhabited by 8-12 subadult alligators and regularly visited by a group of 4-6 otters. The otters would often harass the alligators by approaching them closely, nipping on their tail tips, and splashing water onto their heads. Most alligators responded to harassment by submerging, but one individual ~1.5 m long responded by lunging at the otters every time they got close. By the third day of observation the otters focused most of their attention on that individual. On one occasion an otter slipped on a steep bank of the bayou and was grabbed across
the chest by the alligator. The alligator retreated from the bank and pulled the wriggling otter underwater as if attempting to drown it, but after about 5 s raised its head and released the otter, apparently unharmed. The interactions between this alligator and the otters then continued for two more days, at which point the bayou dried out and all otters and alligators moved elsewhere.
I observed apparent interspecific play between an American alligator and a river otter (Lontra canadensis) in Big Cypress National Preserve (Florida, USA), in a bayou inhabited by 8-12 subadult alligators and regularly visited by a group of 4-6 otters. The otters would often harass the alligators by approaching them closely, nipping on their tail tips, and splashing water onto their heads. Most alligators responded to harassment by submerging, but one individual ~1.5 m long responded by lunging at the otters every time they got close. By the third day of observation the otters focused most of their attention on that individual. On one occasion an otter slipped on a steep bank of the bayou and was grabbed acrossthe chest by the alligator. The alligator retreated from the bank and pulled the wriggling otter underwater as if attempting to drown it, but after about 5 s raised its head and released the otter, apparently unharmed. The interactions between this alligator and the otters then continued for two more days, at which point the bayou dried out and all otters and alligators moved elsewhere.
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