They passed the dark shape so quickly, it could have been a shadow. And in a way, it was.
It was a warm night in late March 2012 when Liz and Brent Busse stopped their pickup on the desolate two-lane road that sliced through the desert. Brent turned the truck around so they could get a better look at the shape.

The 7-foot-long alligator floated motionless in the water, waiting for the prey to get just a few feet closer.
But if this had been a swamp, rather than a swimming pool in north Scottsdale, any prey would surely have noticed the bright orange water wing wrapped around the gator’s tail, preventing him from sinking.