I've lived in Louisiana my entire life.

Alligator sightings are a common occurrence around here, just as they are in the sunshine state of Florida.

A few weeks ago, I saw a gator swimming down the Vermilion River.

A gator lurks in the water
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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I've always been taught to stay out of gator territory, don't feed them, be on alert, and for all intents and purposes, leave them alone.

There are plenty of people who didn't heed that advice and regretted it.

Gator head
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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Having said that, I've never been afraid of gators...until now.

After seeing a video circulating on social media of one gator attacking another, I've developed a new fear of alligators.

Travis Akers, a writer for Newsweek and a Florida resident, shared the video on his Twitter page.

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One alligator was on the hunt for a bird. Little did he know a ginormous gator was waiting to devour him.

Social media reacted to the video accordingly. With a mix of humor (mainly about the birds), surprise, and fear.

Alligator cannibalism may not be extremely frequent, but it happens.

Stay safe in the swamp.

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