Crane escorts alligator across golf course in Florida to protect his family

Animals inhabit golf courses all over the country, and it’s not uncommon for golfers to encounter geese, cranes, alligators and more when out playing a round.

It’s not very often, though, that you see two different — opposite — animals interacting together in the middle of a fairway.

Eric Drexler posted a video to Facebook this week while he was golfing in Florida when he saw a large crane escorting a baby alligator across the fairway with its wings fully extended, apparently in an effort to protect its family.

“I saw something really cool the other day while golfing,” Drexler wrote when posting the video on Facebook, which has been seen more than 2.9 million times. “A Sandhill Crane with a 6′ wingspan was escorting an alligator from one body of water to another. He was actually protecting his wife and baby. That is one devoted dad.”

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Sandhill Cranes “threaten terrestrial predators by spreading their wings and hissing, eventually resorting to kicking.” It looks like that crane really was just trying to protect its family from the baby gator. That’s one brave dad.

The scene was similar to that of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last week, when huge gators were all over the course throughout the tournament — including a massive three-legged gator named Tripod.

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