Interesting Facts about American Alligator

American alligator, also known as Mississippi Alligator or Alligator mississippiensis belongs to the family Alligatoridae. It is one of only two living species of alligator. The other one is the Chinese alligator or Alligator sinensis. The word alligator is derived from the Spanish 'el lagarto', which means lizard. According to scientific estimation, the American alligator is more than 150 million years old. It was the contemporary of dinosaurs, which became extinct almost 65 million years ago. American alligator is largely found in freshwater environment like the swamps, rivers, lakes and marshes of Southeastern United States. It received the title of Official State Reptile of Florida in 1987. It is also the mascot of University of Florida. Here are some more interesting facts about this giant reptile.

Physical Appearance
The average male American alligator grows to a length of 3.4 to 4.5 meter(around 13 to 17 feet long), while the length of the average female American alligator is 2.5 to 3 meter (9 to 11 feet long). American alligators have a large, slightly rounded body covered with coarse scales. Their head is large with striking eyes and nostrils, and they have powerful jaws with pointed teeth. The huge tail accounts for nearly half of its length, which it uses to defend itself from other animals and to float in water. The color of the skin is generally olive, brown, gray or nearly black, while its ventral surface is pale. However, the skin of the young ones of an alligator (known as hatchlings) is typically black with yellow stripes.

Food and Habitat
Alligators are carnivorous, and they mainly eat fish, birds, snakes, mammals, turtles and sometimes even dead animals. Hatchlings or young alligators mainly eat insects, tadpoles, frogs and small fish.

Like any other alligator, American alligator is also a freshwater animal. It thrives in wetlands like swamps, marshes, bogs, lakes and rivers. Although it can withstand saline water to some degree and hence, can sometimes be seen near brackish water like mangrove swamps, the wetlands are crucial for the existence of American alligators. They construct burrows in the wetlands for shelter and hibernate during winter.

American alligators are mainly found in the regions of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas.

Reproduction
American alligators reach the reproduction stage at 8 to 13 years of age and spring (April and May) is the time when they mate. Male alligators attract females by bellowing, and an interesting fact is that sometimes they use infrasound for that purpose. As alligators do not have vocal cords, this is done by sucking in air into their lungs and blowing it out at intervals, making low rumbling roars. The average number of eggs laid by female alligators vary between 25 to 60. After mating, they build nests by using vegetation, mud and leaves for laying eggs. After laying the eggs, mother alligators cover the eggs under more mulch, which helps to keep them warm to facilitate their hatching.

The temperature at which the eggs are hatched, plays an important role in determining the sex of the young alligators. The eggs that are hatched at temperatures between 90 to 93 degree Fahrenheit turn out to be males, while those hatched between 82 to 86 degree Fahrenheit turn out to be females. However, intermediate temperature ranges are found to produce a mix of male and female alligators. The young alligators are generally 6 to 8 inches in length and they become independent almost immediately, in finding their food, but stay with their mothers for about two years, for their safety. The average life span of an American alligator is about 30-35 years, but they can live up to more than 50 years in captivity.

Recovery from Extinction
American alligators were generally hunted for their skins, as it was used in making leather. They were also poached for their flesh. Large-scale poaching of American alligator coupled with loss of habitat had reduced its population to such an extent that it was on the brink of extinction.

In 1967, the American alligator was classified as an endangered species. Government took many measures to protect and preserve it like, declaring alligator hunting as an unlawful activity and creating large commercial farms for alligator breeding. These measures have succeeded in not only saving it from extinction but also in increasing its population.

Alligator Farming
Alligator industry has emerged as a big and profitable industry in United States, and is mainly concentrated in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana. These four states together produce approximately 45,000 alligator hides annually. The market for alligator meat is also developing rapidly as a million dollar industry.

Despite all the endeavors for the preservation of American alligator, it is facing many problems like consistently high temperature and low availability of food, mainly in Florida. As a result, delay in attaining sexual maturity and reduction in length, have been observed in the animal, which calls for immediate attention. Though American alligator is no longer an endangered animal, it is listed as a threatened species. This points to the fact that it needs constant protection, not only for its own survival but also for maintaining balance in the ecosystem.