Venice Woman Snaps Photos Of 10-Foot Gator Snacking On A Snook At Sarasota Park

VENICE, FL — With the recent cold snap, amateur photographer Robin Austin knew she and her husband would likely come across some gators basking in the sun during their visit to Myakka River State Park in Sarasota on Sunday.

What surprised her the most when she spotted a gator during their visit was how big it was — about 10 to 12 feet long, she estimates — and that the large reptile had a large snook in its mouth.

“I was surprised not to see the gator out warming himself up, but to see him with a fish in his mouth. When it’s cold like that, they don’t usually eat. They have to be warm to eat,” Austin said.

Gators rely on external heat sources, such as basking in the sun, to regulate their body temperature, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

They’re most active when temperatures are between 82 and 92 degrees. When ambient temperatures get below 70 degrees, they stop feeding, and become dormant when it drops below 55 degrees, the FWC said.

Born and raised in the Everglades, Austin is used to seeing snook, a largely saltwater fish that sometimes travels short distances into fresh water.

“To see one all the way up in the Myakka River, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was surprising. And (the gator) never ate it, never let go the whole time I was taking pictures.”

The fish was about 36 to 40 inches long, “which is a good-sized snook,” Austin added.

The South Florida native, raised in Everglades City, spent much of her adult life in Sarasota County. She and her husband spent about a decade in Ohio, making the move for his career, and returned to Venice in 2019 when they retired.

That Christmas, her husband and son gifted her a camera, a Canon Powershot SX740.

“Not a fancy camera, basically a point-and-shoot,” she said. “A starter camera, but it’s got a pretty good zoom. Nothing fancy, no lenses or anything to change, but I think it does a great job for the type of camera it is.”

Since then, Austin doesn’t go anywhere without her camera close by.

“It’s always with me, never out of my sight, always in my purse or in my car,” she said. “You never know what you’re gonna see. If I say, ‘Whoa, stop,’ my husband finds a place to pull over.”

She’s learned a lot about her camera and photography techniques through trial and error, and watching YouTube videos. And as she improves, she expects she’ll want to graduate to a “bigger and better” camera.

For now, though, she’s happy with images she’s capturing of her favorite subject: Florida wildlife and nature scenes.

Austin has her favorite spots, including the Venice Area Audubon Rookery and the Myakka River State Park, visiting both weekly, sometimes more than once. They visit other Florida parks and preserves as well, but Myakka River is her go-to if she’s hoping to spy a gator.

The one she saw Sunday is like nothing she’s seen before, though.

“With the time of year and that snook and his size, it was amazing,” she said.