Massive Gator on FL Golf Course: Fake or Real? We Polled Our Staff

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The Alternative Daily
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I have seen some big alligators in my life but nothing quite like the one featured in the video below. Golfer Charlie Helms got more than he bargained for when he was golfing with a friend at Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, Florida over the weekend.

The massive gator appears in the video to be very nonchalantly making its way to a lake on the course to cool off. With no interest at all in the golfers, the gator simply strolled along the course to the water, not even so much as turning to look at the golfers who were filming in amazement!

When I stumbled across this video I shared it with my boss, Jake Carney, who immediately called it a fake. We decided to poll the other staff to see what everyone thought. At present, we have polled six staff, two who are so amazed they couldn’t comment, two who think it is real and two who are calling this a scam.

Let us know what you think below.

— Susan Patterson

51 COMMENTS

  6. I’ve seen big gators, but there is something about this video, that strikes me as off…

  8. It’s obviously a very large alligator displaying the “high walk”; which is commonly used by gators to travel long distances overland.

  9. Whether it’s 15 foot as the videographer claims is disputable, but it’s definitely real.

  10. Bet David Icke is watching wishing it would stand up and change into a human, so he can say

    “See the nutter was right” lmao

    But really who cares if it’s real or not there’s more important things going on in the world.

  12. It’s real. I’ve seen some huge gators, both in Florida and in South Georgia, in Lake Seminole, some of them as large as this one, and some approaching 18 feet. In the wild. Yes, really. —

  13. I’ve seen one that big in Moore Haven (Okeechobee) Florida. That guy is crazy. If that gator decided to move toward him he could not have gotten away. There are also some big ones at the Disney Resort golf courses near Orlando. Keep your poodles and shitzus away from the canals. There was also a 14-footer shot near Jackson, Alabama off the Alabama River. Alabama record that was thought to have lived off deer carcasses.

  14. This real. One. look at the shadows on the trees, the person recording, golf burn and the tree line. They all a line up. Two. a number of year ago a golfer was killed and eaten by an alligator. His golf buddies became concerned after he went to retrieve his golf balls he had hit in the lake and did not return. They killed the gator and found the golfer in the gator. This one is big enough to do the same. Bottom line leave gators and natural alone.

  15. I think it’s real. There used to be many large gators in Sanibel, FL, but the large ones were all relocated to other parts of Florida after one of them ate a landscaper. Two years prior to that, one of them ate an old man walking his dog. The gator grabbed the dog, and the man lost his life trying to save his little friend. Gators look slow when they are walking, but they are lightning fast for thirty or forty feet.

  16. Sheer idiocy on the part of both people filming the gator. There’s no way to tell if
    it’s hungry or not, and no escape, for one of them, if it is. That’s not brave, it’s just stupid.
    The charge, if we could bring it, would be “Felony stupid”! It’s gotta be against the law
    to be that dumb.
    Gotta say, though, it’s an interesting video.

  20. Alligators can go 20-30 mph in short spurts. They have been clocked that fast lunging out of the water to their prey. Getting anywhere near one is pretty stupid, because a human can’t escape a lunging gator

  21. The shadows line up, and the light falls on the guy and gator the same slant. If that’s a fake, it’s a really good one. I think it’s real.
    Take a trip to Ding Darling Refuge on Sanibel and go to the main Visitor’s area for the exibits and history. Then go down the road to the really wild Refuge walk-around. You’ll see some monsters there. I won’t do that again – I can’t outrun ANY of the gators we saw in there. It was the quickest walk I ever took – I couldn’t wait to get out. You’re in their territory 🙂

  22. Once my ex sent us a picture of him on the golf course showing off and there was a gator in the back ground. Now why couldn’t that gator eat my ex and do me a favor….he musta known my ex wasnt a good guy (meal)… Lol. But seriously I can’t believe all the parents that don’t watch their kids in Florida with these roaming around…and sad for those that lost their lives it’s no joking matter truly.

  23. For all my Floridian golfing friends: I once heard that you can outrun a gator by running in zig-zags, as those monsters can’t turn and keep their speed, like dogs, big cats and bears can. Hope that tip never has to come in handy, but if it does, I hope it works.

  24. Real!!! I’ve seen gators in Florida and yes, they can get that big. Yes, they can run short STRAIGHT bursts in excess of 30 M.P.H. and yes, I would be very concerned seeing one that size.

  25. Actually if you run a zig zag pattern you have a good chance. I would also bet these guys weren’t far from a golf cart.

  26. I go to paynes praire every year and see lots of gators 1 foot to about 17 feet,located in gainesville,florida. I stood 20 feet from these guys for 2 hours,keep your distance and they wont bother you. we have seen as many as 25 to over 100 gators in 1 day. steve altoona,pa

  27. Gators are modern day dinosaurs. Florida was their real estate first. Don’t know if this is real or not.

  28. As another Gainesville, Floridian, I’d say it is probably real. I have climbed a guard rail walking to the parking lot after work, to avoid one lying by the sidewalk before it decided to cross the road. Some of them are huge. I don’t get that close on purpose.

  29. Take a good look at the shadow of the gator vs. the shadow of the man. This is a high-tech version of the old “hold the fish with a straight arm so it’s closer to the camera” trick. The gator is real. It’s perspective in this video is not.

  31. Avg alligators may run 10 mph in a really short burst, imagine one this big….lol You could literally just walk away

  32. It looks closer than it really is because the zoom lens causes foreshortening. It really is at least 50 metres from the camera, possibly 70 metres. The “depth of field” looks less when you zoom in. That is apart from the effect of magnification when zooming in. Does that compute ? The distance between the guy and the croc looks less when you zoom in. If the camera was further away and more zoom was used to compensate and get closer then the gap between the guy and the croc would shrink more.

  35. Myth: You should run zigzag if you come across an alligator.
    Fact: This is a common misconception. First, it is rare for an alligator to pursue a human because humans are too large to be suitable prey. However, if an alligator does make an aggressive charge, run fast and straight (away from
    the alligator, of course). They usually do not run very far. But remember they are most likely to charge at you if you are near their nest.

  37. Just plain lucky that didn’t chase him. I think it’s real because I know that a new kind of alligator has ruined the eco system in Florida.

  38. I believe the gater can be that size. However, if you look at the picture there are some interesting flashes at the end of the tail as it walks. I suspect very clever editing. Professional quality.

  39. I just read your comment. We were in Sanibel last year in the Ding Darling Refuge – but the really undeveloped part. We saw a number of gators, and one that scared the living crap out of me. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough 🙂 And I won’t be going back to that area.

  40. Maybe there’s a way of shooting the vid to make the perspective off. But that thing looks real to me – and a lot of others 🙂 I wouldn’t want to meet up with it.

  41. I noticed that right away, too. If you look closely the flashes are just the tail moving side to side, and when it moves like that the upper ridge tends to slant along with the move. That’s what I see, anyway.

  42. Yeah, I just saw that Nile Crocs have been released by some moron into the Glades. They caught four and a DNA check said they were all related. So it looks like someone in the exotic pet trade did something reallllly stupid. And if they caught four, you can bet there are others.
    Nile crocs are very large, and extremely agressive. The only thing we can hope is they eat all the pythons. More crap native Florida wildlife has to deal with 🙁
    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article78680152.html

  43. Maybe the way the video was shot makes the perspective off. But that thing looks real to me, and I wouldn’t want to meet up with it.

  44. We were on Sanibel last year, and always go to Ding Darling Refuge. We decided to go to the undeveloped part down the road. There were a number of gators in there, and one was huge. I won’t go back there again. My husband thought it was really interesting. I told him to take pictures, and update his will, if he goes back there.

  46. We have one bigger than that one in Dudley Zoo West Midlands UK

    He gives the kids rides round the park for free

  47. When alligators get to be very large or aggressive, they are relocated to less populated parts of Florida. No one has ever been attacked by an alligator at Ding Darling. Except for the gators, did you enjoy your stay?

  48. I was playing golf in Charleston and there was a gator about the same size (gators must love golf) on the course, just sitting without movement. I thought it was a concrete gator and walked over very close saying it looked almost real, when the other players said it is real and I had better move my ass further away from it. I thought they were kidding me until I saw the eyes move and I quickly backed away. It seemed too big to run fast but I did not desire to test it.

  49. They missed one, and we have a picture to show it 🙂 We met a few joggers in the wilder place, so I guess people a quite comfy with the wildlife. I run, too, but can’t outrun a gator.
    And yes, Sanibel is one of my favorite places. We never leave the island – you have everything you need right there. And aside from being a bit more cautious, we’ll go back every time we can. I love the wildness of the place. All the development regulations sure paid off.

  50. It is very real! If this is the same golf course we played at a few years ago, it’s the same huge gator we saw on the golf course then. That even looks like the same area where we saw it. It just lumbered up from a low pond area and walked right across our fairway, stopping & laying down in the middle of it. At least this time, he kept going. We guessed it was over 12 ft. at the time. Luckily, we had already played past where he was but felt sorry for the golfers behind us. He definitely puts a dam
    per on playing through. ;o)

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