An alligator at a Kilkenny zoo has been caught lunging at a camera after stalking it for several days.
Battle the American alligator was seen watching a Ring camera in his enclosure at the National Reptile Zoo.
The footage, uploaded to YouTube, shows him lurking just below the water with just his eyes and nose visible before snapping his sharp teeth on the camera.
“The camera did not survive the attack,” zoo manager James Hennessy said.
“After he pulled it down, it lay cracked open and submerged at the bottom of the pond overnight.”
Mr Hennessy described the 29-year-old reptile, who lives alongside a smaller female alligator named LaFleur, as docile but extremely curious and sometimes mischievous.
He added: “He likes to re-arrange the rocks and substrate in his habitat, especially after we’ve cleaned it or put in new items.”
After years of using Ring devices at home, Mr Hennessy installed a camera in the zoo to keep an eye on a highly venomous bushmaster snake and was able to document the snake laying eggs and view its nocturnal behaviour.
This led Mr Hennessy to create a similar set-up for the American alligators.
Eleven more Ring cameras have been donated to the zoo, helping researchers monitor the reptiles remotely.
“I can check on an animal from anywhere in the world,” Mr Hennessy said.
“It has also given us a unique insight into what some of these animals are doing when we’re not looking. This opens up massive research opportunities, which in the long term will be beneficial for these animals in the wild.”
The zoo has more than 50 animal species, ranging from geckos, poison dart frogs and tarantulas, through to giant monitor lizards, pythons and crocodiles.
