Gator in Paradise: The Unexpected Encounter That Changed a Diver's Palm Beach Swim

Picture this: You’re swimming off Palm Beach, soaking up the sun, totally relaxed. You dive under and suddenly realize you’re not alone. But it’s not a shark. It’s not even one of those giant, stinging Man-O-War jellyfish you might expect. Nope—it’s a gator.

This is exactly what happened to scuba diver Lazaro Ruda. He was about 60 feet down, more than ten miles from the nearest inlet, just doing his thing. Then he spotted something way out of place: an alligator, alone, chilling right on the sea floor. Gators don’t have the salt glands that let crocodiles handle seawater, so they can’t stick around in the ocean for long. Too much salt would dry them out and mess up their cells.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife folks confirmed it was an alligator, not a crocodile. They scooped it up and moved it somewhere more comfortable—a nice, fresh stretch of water. Still, nobody expects to bump into a gator out in the ocean.

The gator’s just hanging out, looking like he wanted some peace and quiet (and probably wasn’t thrilled to have company). He can shoot up to the surface whenever he wants, too. Unlike humans, he doesn’t have to worry about getting the bends.

Gator in photo is not the gator from Lazaro Ruda.