Del

I don't know about gators but bears and wolves take beaver in traps.It is very easy to tell which was the culprit as both do it much different.
Bears take the beaver,trap and all away form the site.It is very rare to find the trap.
Wolves will rip the beaver to shreds at the trapsite leaving pieces of hide,gut etc strewn around,generally a big mess.(this is from several wolves trying to get a piece).It is rare not to find the trap within a couple hundred feet of the trapsite with minimal remains in the trap.
I would presume to guess that a gator would act more like a bear than a wolf in taking beaver in a trap.

Aix I've had beavers chewed on several times by gators. Seems they can't get a whole lot of pull to get them out while they're in the water. Careful cause most gators are still there when they find a beaver in your trap.

I could handle a gator eating a beaver now and then, but those poisonous snakes you have would make me consider another job or hobby.

A few years ago we had a bad drought and we were going to work on our pond. We pumped the rest of the water out. Dug into the bank the gators made a tunnel back into the bank, so there is no way you would know they where there. One step into the water and it was their choice if they would eat or not.
Snakes are bad too.

I would ask Kirk DeKalb on this site. He talks about gators in his Beaver Video and being a Georgia nuisance trapper he's probably got a story or two to go with it.

Very nice guy to talk with.


B

I have seen gators with hogs and yearling deer. Gators have a very powerful bite force, but they cannot chew their food into bite size pieces that they can swallow. They have to rip and tear it apart into smaller pieces to be able to swallow it. Many times they will kill/drown an animal then stash it somewhere until decomposition begins. At that point it is easier for them to tear it apart. They grab, roll, and pull. They will also grab it and sling it violently back and forth until they tear it apart piece by piece. A trapped animal close to or in the water would be easy pickings for them. Gators fight too. I have seen numerous gators with missing legs and tails, broken jaws, etc. Watched one grab another by the leg, then did the roll and twist until the leg became unhinged. It was not a pretty sight. The victim showed no sign of agony or pain during that ordeal.