Above are two crocodiles, American on top, Chinese on bottom. |
The alligator a large reptile resembling the crocodile, dwelling in waters of tropical regions of the western hemisphere.
- Alligators frequent swamps and marshes and may be seen during the day basking on the ground in the heat of the sun.
- Alligators are slow in growth and as they age, their growth rate slows down even more. Males are generally larger than females.
- Nearly fifty years are required for them to reach their full, potential length.
- They are active animals, and they prey upon whatever game comes their way.
- Whenever they have captured an animal, they take it into the water and eat below the surface.
- They are rather timid, in spite of their size, but defend themselves viciously if attacked.
- When on shore, they rush with open mouth at their enemies and thrash their powerful tails from side to side.
- The young are hatched by the sun from eggs, of which the female lays 200 or more in great heaps of vegetable matter.
- The alligators of South America were very often called caymans.
- One species is known as the spectacled cayman, because of the high bony rim surrounding the orbit of each eye.
- In the United States the alligator is not often seen north of Florida, but at one time it was not uncommon from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.
- There are several alligator "farms" in Florida.
- Millions have been killed for sport and because of their hide and ivory.
- The flesh of the alligator is often eaten, and the leather made from its hide is beautiful and costly.
More Alligator Facts From The Web:
- Gator Fact Sheet (pdf.) by Savannah River Ecology Labroratory
- Alligator vs. Crocodiles by What Lurks Below
- Crocodiles, Gavials, Caimans, and Alligators
- Everglades National Park
- Alligator Farming: regulations by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Supperclass Tetrapoda: Class II Reptilia |