Alligators and sharks are infamous for being the monsters of the sea, but what happens when the two are spotted swimming alongside one another?
According to recent viral videos of an alligator and a shark leisurely swimming near a marina on Hilton Head Island, not much.
Gina Athans, a Chicago native vacationing in the famed South Carolina tourist spot captured the footage of an alligator swimming along the dock when a lemon shark approached
Dozens of onlookers crowded around a nearby deck to watch the shocking interaction, but the animals seemed unbothered by one another.
The video has gone viral on social media, with users flocking to the comment section in shock.
‘This just proves to me that I have no business in the water,’ one joked.
‘They seem fine with one another, but if a human fell in there…’ another pointed out.
‘Who’s hunting who [questioning emoji],’ a third added.
Athans responded to a comment saying that the curious scene took place on a dock by the Skull Creek Dockside restaurant.
She added that local fishermen were cutting up their catch and throwing scraps in the water, which seemed to attract the alligator and shark.
Athans told local news outlet, The Island Packet, that her family had just sat down for drinks at the restaurant when a manager mentioned the spotting.
‘My first thought was ‘there’s no way they’re hanging out in the water together,”‘ she recalled.
Athans added that she was ‘mind blown’ when she saw the animals swimming together.
Despite their fearsome appearance, lemon sharks do not have a reputation for being aggressive around humans – but experts still warn swimmers to give them a wide berth.
Despite both animals having reputations for being fierce predators, Morgan Hart with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources told The Island Packet that the two can coexist and are often seen together.
The scene may be shocking since alligators are primarily freshwater animals and aren’t seen in the ocean like sharks, but Hart said it’s not uncommon for alligators to swim in saltwater.
Sharks and alligators both feed on crabs and aren’t a threat to one another if they’re near the same size.