Rusty trap stuck on alligator’s head was ‘growing into its face,’ Florida photos show

A Florida alligator has likely been living for years in excruciating pain due to a rusty trap stuck on its mouth, photos show.

The grisly predicament was revealed in a Dec. 10 social media post by Bellowing Acres, an alligator sanctuary in North Florida’s Putnam County.

“This morning we were contacted by (a trapper) about this nuisance alligator with a snare growing into his face!” wildlife rescuer Chris Gillette, owner of the sanctuary, wrote in a Facebook post.

“It has obviously been there for a long time.”

Alligator snares are a type of trap involving a wire noose that locks into place when an alligator walks into it.

In this case, the snare locked tightly around the young alligator’s top jaw. The alligator was able to chew food, but the locked cable was slowly cutting through skin and bone as the reptile grew.

Photos show the cable had been in place long enough to appear embedded in the skin and bone.

Bellowing Acres is near capacity with rescued alligators, but Gillette said this case demanded mercy.

“Space is very limited right now as our temporary enclosures are filled up ... but we will be taking this guy in!” he wrote.

In a Dec. 12 update, Gillette reported the snare was removed, revealing it had been on long enough for bone to grow around it. He suspects it may have been on the alligator’s head “a couple of years,” and likely belonged to a poacher.

The alligator, named TrapJaw, is “not friendly,” Gillette added.

“He’s been trying to bite a lot. He’s got a lot of fight in him,” Gillette noted in a video. “This is a young, male alligator. He’s going to grow a lot larger and as he does, that’s going to heal right up. And I bet a couple of years from now, you will not be able to tell this happened at all.”

Florida’s alligators are known for their resilience, including some that live long after losing legs, eyes and even parts of their jaw in brawls with other alligators.

Putnam County is about a 70-mile drive south from Jacksonville.

This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 7:50 AM with the headline "Rusty trap stuck on alligator’s head was ‘growing into its face,’ Florida photos show."