LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla (WSVN) — Gordon Silver said alligators are common in his Lakewood Ranch neighborhood. However, he was still unprepared to find two of them wrestling in his backyard.

Silver shared video showing the two creatures tangling with each other at the water’s edge.

The video starts with a low growling sound before the two take each other on and tumble into the water.

“Didn’t have to leave my back yard to capture these 2 gators tossing each other around at the beginning of the 2021 mating season in Lakewood Ranch, Florida,” Silver said in the video’s caption.

Silver told Fox 13 he heard the gator’s mating call from inside his home and rushed outside with his camera to investigate.

“I’m a big nature photographer and capturing wildlife right from your own back yard is something I always wanted to do,” he said.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, courtship for alligators begins in early April and mating occurs in May or June.

The female gator will then lay approximately 32 to 46 eggs in late June or early July, and the eggs will hatch around late August or early September.

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