These photos were taken shortly after dusk of a terrifying alligator lurking in a shallow river with glowing red eyes.
Larry Lynch, a daring photographer, snapped the beast preparing to pounce at Myakka River State Park in Florida while he was only seven meters away.
The Natural History Museum’s animal portrait of the year prize was given to Larry for the photograph below, titled Warning Night Light.
Since, as Larry said, “I knew the alligators were hanging out in a certain zone,” all I had to do was find an amenable alligator.
By setting his flash to the lowest setting, Larry was able to capture the menacing glint in the alligator’s eyes.
An alligator’s unmistakable red glow makes it simple to see one at night.
Similar to cat eyes, alligator eyes make the most of dim light by using special photo receptor cells. Unlike cats, the reflection is red in alligators.
Between squatting in several inches of black mud, the heat, humidity, and blood-sucking mosquitos, Larry recounted the anxious moment when he took his prize-winning photographs: “Get the greatest image I can and get the heck out.”
Male alligators can grow significantly larger than females, who rarely exceed nine feet in length.
