'You don't see that every day': Photos show alligator trap turtle in jaw on Florida golf course

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A massive alligator was photographed with a turtle in its jaw on a Florida golf course last week.

Casey Yarbrough was in the fairway on the 14th hole at a Naples golf course on March 20 when he said he heard what sounded like a gun going off.

After driving over to where he heard the sound, Yarbrough said he saw was something he had never seen in his 50 years of golfing: A massive alligator, estimated to be about 14 feet long, with a roughly 50-pound snapping turtle trapped in its jaw.

"You don't see that every day," Yarbrough told Nexstar's WFLA.

Yarbrough said he assumed alligators ate turtles, though he admitted he had never seen a gator attempting to ingest one. The turtle was so large, Yarbrough added, that he thought there was no way the gator was going to be able to eat it.

When asked how he would describe the event, Yarbrough told WFLA that it was "kinda amazing."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reminds residents to stay wary of alligators near waterways, always keep a safe distance, and never feed one. The animals are often active during dawn and dusk hours, the agency adds.