Alligators

Alligators

Alligators and crocodiles are not the same, although they are both reptiles. When an alligator's mouth is closed, you cannot see any of its teeth. You can see a crocodile's teeth. An alligator's snout is shorter, wider and rounder than a crocodile's.

There are two different kinds of alligators. One kind lives in the United States, mainly in Louisiana and Florida, but also in states from the southeast to the lower Rio Grande. The other kind lives along the Yangtze River in China.

The Chinese alligator is smaller than those found in the United States, where the adult males are as long as 14 feet and weigh more than 750 pounds. Females are usually no more than eight feet long and weigh about 400 pounds.

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All alligators live near water, such as swamps, ponds, lakes, marshy areas or canals. They must live near water, because they are cold-blooded and need the water to help them maintain a constant body temperature.

They usually stay in the water during the night and spend the day lying in the sun. If the day is especially hot, they will slip back into the water to cool off.

Alligators do not sweat, so they also cool themselves by opening their mouths wide. The evaporation helps cool them, much like when a dog pants.

During very cold winters, alligators will dig deep into the mud and hibernate.

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Alligators have rows of scales on their bodies, and they are "carnivores." A carnivore is an animal that eats the flesh of other animals. Young "hatchling" (baby) alligators eat insects, snails, tadpoles, small fish, crabs and other crustaceans and shellfish. As they grow bigger, they eat larger fish and reptiles. Frogs and turtles are a favorite meal.

When they are full-grown, alligators will eat mammals, including buffalo, zebras, snakes, monkeys, and any other animal they can find at the water's edge. When they capture something, they take it under water and drown it. Often they will take the dead animal and hide it along the edge of the water. Then, when the flesh is rotten, they can easily pull it apart and eat it.

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Mother alligators lay 20 to 80 eggs in one day. The sturdy eggs are then buried under dirt and leaves. When the leaves begin to decay, they give off heat and that keeps the eggs warm. The mother stays nearby to guard the eggs.

It takes from two to three months for the eggs to hatch. The hatchling uses its "egg tooth" to break through the shell. The egg tooth is a special little tooth on the end of the hatchling's snout. When the mother hears the egg shells cracking, she uncovers the eggs to find her babies. The hatchlings are about eight inches long, and they grow about twelve inches a year.

Young alligators stay with their mothers for about one-and-one-half years, and then go out on their own. By the time they are three years old, they usually wander away to find their own territory.

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To communicate with each other, alligators make bellowing sounds. A male alligator can be heard more than a mile away.

For many years, alligators were hunted and killed for their hides. The number of alligators got smaller and smaller. Now, there are laws to protect them and the alligator population is once again becoming quite large.