Interesting Facts About Alligators
Interesting Facts About Alligators
2. Alligators have a number of vocalizations including hissing, grunting, bellowing, distress yelps, croaking, etc.
3. Unlike most reptiles, mother alligators will watch over their young for the first three years of their life. Some hatchlings will even ride on their mother’s back!
4. There is only one other alligator species, the Chinese alligator.
5. The American Alligator has between 74 and 80 teeth!
6. Alligators were hunted extensively for their hide, particularly in the late 1800s when leather products were the height of fashion.
7. They are carnivores, so they only eat other animals. Adult alligators eat fish, wading birds, snakes, frogs, turtles, small mammals, and even small alligators - and they usually swallow their prey whole!
8. In the wild, alligators live 35 to 50 years. In captivity, alligators can live 60 to 80 years.
9. Alligators live in swampy areas, rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. They primarily live in freshwater, but can sometimes be found in brackish waters.
10. Worldwide there are 23 species of crocodilians; most were also hunted for food and skins, and by 1971 all crocodilians were endangered, threatened, or declining in numbers.
11. In some areas alligators do something that only a few species, such as humans and beavers, do create wetland habitat. In marsh, sawgrass, and floodplain habitats gators sometimes create “gator holes,” which provide a refuge for many other animals during dry periods. Alligators create the holes, which can be the size of a small backyard pool, using their snout, forefeet, and tail.
12. Alligators are called a “keystone species” due to the strong influence they have on other species.
13. In the temperate portions of their range, alligators construct dens (a cave-like structure in the bank of the waterway) where they remain dormant during winter months.
14. Gators also exhibit “icing behavior” in response to extreme cold. Before a pond freezes, an adult will move to shallow water, place its nostrils (on the tip of the snout) out of the water, and let its snout become frozen into the ice.
15. Humans can hear a wide variety of the sounds that alligators use to communicate, from coughing and hissing to distress yelps, hatching calls, and bellowing. In addition, alligators are one of many species of animals that communicate using sounds that we cannot hear. Humans hear sound in the range of 20-20,000 Hz (hertz; cycles per second), and some alligator vocalizations are below 20 Hz, in the infrasound range. Low frequency sound can travel very long distances.
16. Unique among reptiles, crocodilians have been observed bringing food to their young.
17. The longest recorded length for an alligator is 19' 2'. This animal was trapped in the early 1900's in the State of Louisiana. Most wild alligators do not get above 13 feet in length, and may weigh 600 pounds or more. Also, the weight of an alligator can vary greatly in relation to its length.
18. Alligators are not immune to snake poison. However, they do have extremely tough skin, and an armored back protected by bony plates called scutes. It is possible that this protection may prevent a snake's fangs from penetrating the skin.
19. Alligators actually have very good eyesight, which is an important adaptation for hunting. They are especially adapted to see and sense movement of potential prey animals. The position of their eyes on their head (almost on the side) gives them a wide sight range. The only place they cannot see is right behind them.
20. Alligators have sharp claws and powerful tails to help them push their bodies up. Young alligators are agile climbers and adults have been known to climb fences to get to water or escape captivity. Low fences, therefore, may not be sufficient protection for pets in areas where alligators are present.
21. When lurking around in the water looking for prey, only the eyes and nostrils of an alligator can be seen.
22. Alligators have sensitive skin sensors that let them know when anything has entered the water near them. They actually feel the vibrations in the water!
23. Alligators swallow small prey whole. They will drag larger prey underwater to drown it, but must come back up above water to swallow it.
24. Alligators have very powerful jaws, which allows them to break bones or crush the shells of prey.
25. Alligators are cold-blooded animals. They don’t have to eat very often because they don’t have to spend a lot of energy maintaining a high body temperature like warm blooded animals.
26. Alligators living in the wild usually eat once a week. They store fat in their tails.
27. When living on its fat reserves, an alligator can go more than two years between meals!
28. An alligator’s tail is very powerful! Alligators use their tails to push themselves up out of the water to grab small animals from low tree branches.
29. Crocodiles have longer, more pointed snouts, a brown to olive color and generally get larger and more aggressive then alligators.
30. There is also a difference in their teeth. The top teeth of the alligator hang over the bottom jaw when the mouth is closed. On the crocodile some of the teeth from the bottom jaw protrude above the top jaw.
Comments
Post a Comment