‘Startling’ head slaps are part of alligator courtship, Georgia lab says. See video

Caption

A visitor to Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp recorded a rarely seen part of the alligator mating ritual called the head slap, researchers say.

Credit: Jennifer Berglund video screengrab

Male alligators rumble like Jurassic Park dinosaurs during mating displays, but a lesser-known part of the ritual involves something even more dramatic, experts say.

“Have you heard of an alligator head slap?” the University of Georgia’s Coastal Ecology Lab asked in a Feb. 17 Facebook post.

“Like bellowing, a head slap is used for courtship and territoriality displays, however, it is not observed in the wild as frequently as bellowing.”

“Amazing video” of a head slap was captured by a visitor to the 640-square-mile Okefenokee Swamp and shared by the lab on social media.

It shows a large alligator moving in slow motion in the seconds before it explosively slapped its head against the water.

The video had been viewed 18,000 times as of Feb. 26, with some viewers likening the sound to “a shotgun blast.”

“It kind of does, louder than you would expect,” the lab wrote on Facebook. “It can be quite startling if you aren’t expecting it!”

A warning of what is to come happens when the alligator lifts its head and tail out of the water — the same position they assume when making those notoriously loud bellows, lab officials said.

“Rather than emit a deep rumbling bellow, however, the alligator instead rapidly brings its head and tail toward the water, creating a loud slapping sound,” the lab said.

“This behavior is typically done by large males and how loud the slap is signals to any other alligator how big the male alligator in the area is.”

The video was recorded by writer and film producer Jennifer Berglund of Savannah, who reported another alligator appeared to pursue the male through the swamp after his display, officials said.

“It would appear as if his performance was well received,” the lab said.

The Okefenokee Swamp is in southeastern Georgia, about a 45-mile drive northwest from Jacksonville, Fla.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph.