[dead]

Snake Swallows 6-Foot Alligator

There's an "almost" missing from that title.

[savedbygrace]

It looks to me like the snake swallowed the alligator whole, head first, but the 'gator wasn't dead. So, the 'gator was thrashing around with its uber-powerful tail inside the snake. That's what helped to split the snake.

But I'm only looking at the one still, and know nothing other than that.