I thought the same thing. The heron must have killed the alligator first but I wonder how it did that.
Nope. Herons' motto is, swallow first, ask questions later.
Post 8 above illustrates that point pretty well..
>Wouldn’t the “food” be biting and clawing all the way down? And for a while after?
Actually, herons kill prey first by hitting it in the head like a woodpecker. And they do that due to instinctual drive, and will strike again before eating. Some koi keepers can come out and find all their expensive fish floating, looking like they were shot in the skull with a 22.
The alligator swam by the heron, got “shot” in the head, and was stunned or dead and floating when the heron swallowed it.