Camera Stolen By Alligator is Recovered Almost a Year Later

Photography News

Stories of cameras being taken by animals are not necessarily rare, we’ve already seen a pilfering octopus and a shark pull off an underwater camera heist, but the story below about a South Florida photographer losing his Canon 60D to a full grown alligator still manages to capture our attention for obvious reasons. Check out photographer Mario Aldecoa‘s take on how this unusual story came to pass:

Aldecoa is fortunate that all he lost was his camera after the alligator became agitated enough to feel the need to put an end to his photo shoot. Hopefully, this story goes to show that it’s important to respect boundaries and be able to read animals’ body language when photographing them up close.

Last photo captured by the camera

After recovery

Reenactment

Perhaps what is most remarkable about the story is that, after having spent eight months submerged in the bottom of the swamp, Aldecoa’s camera was recovered in a most unusual way. During a feeding demonstration put on by park officials, the camera was drug out of the water by an alligator after the camera strap had become hooked onto the animal’s leg.

The camera was returned to Aldecoa, who removed the memory card, cleaned it up, let it dry out, and then proceeded to check it to see if any images were still on it. Miraculously, the image just above, which Aldecoa snapped moments before his Canon become dinner for an angry alligator, was saved. Minus the life threatening animal, this story is similar to the one where a Canon Rebel was recovered after it spent a long three years underwater.