I have no real love for alligators, but I wrote this article for a home-schooling newsletter published by a 14 year old boy who lives nearby to me. Even though the newsletter goes out to only 15 people I still felt like it's an achievement to see my word in print. I thought I'd share the article with you guys. Believe me I did a lot of research!
Take a train down to the Southeast and try wading through the dense swamps and rivers without coming upon an American alligator. These prehistoric animals love hanging out in the swamps and rivers of the Southeast. Alligators live alone( not in packs.) They are huge meat eaters and will eat just about anything that they can catch: fish, turtles, raccoons, birds, dead animals, and even other alligators. Very seldom do they eat humans, though. Almost looking like a floating log an alligator can float motionless in the water with only its eyes and nostrils exposed, waiting for a meal. Alligators cannot chew their meals, so if a small meal comes along such as a fish they snap it up and swallow it whole. If a larger meal comes along they generally seize it and drag it under water to drown it. After that the alligator tears it up into large pieces to swallow.
All alligators are a member of the Reptilla family, which basically means they are reptiles. Weighing 450- 500 pounds American alligators are the largest member of all the members of the croc family in North America and as long as 13-18ft, their tail accounts for half their length. The wild American alligator spends its 35-40 year life span in and around the fresh water swamps and rivers of its watery homeland. Females live in small ponds and males tend to stay in the open water and move from pond to pond to mate during the breeding season.
Breeding season takes place during April and May. A female alligator lays her 20-50 eggs in a nest made of damp, rotting, vegetation, and mud. Then she carefully covers the eggs with more vegetation. The rotting vegetation gives off heat helping to incubate the eggs. The mother alligator remains close to the nest so as to ward off any intruders who might be hungry for baby alligator. In about two to three months the alligators hatch. Alligators don’t make bad mothers. They let their babies follow them around for a few days and even up to a year sometimes, and often let them bask on their head and back.
Did you know that alligators have become quite a popular attraction in the south? Yes, there are even alligator parks and farms now! In the 1970’s all poaching of alligators became illegal, and since then they have made quite a come back from nearly being extinct. People are finally beginning to truly appreciate them.
Myth: Alligators live for hundreds of years.
Fact: Alligators in the wild are believed to live 35 - 50 years. In captivity their life span may be significantly longer, perhaps 60-80 years. Currently, there are no scientific methods of analyzing an alligator’s age while it is alive.
Myth: Alligators can grow to enormous proportions, over 20 feet in length and weighing a ton or more.
Fact: 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 can weigh up to 600 pounds or more.
Myth: Crocodiles and alligators open their jaws differently. The jaws of the crocodile are hinged to open the top jaw, while alligators open their bottom.
Fact: Alligators and crocodiles jaws are hinged the same. Both animals hinge their jaws on the bottom; the top jaw is simply an extension of the skull.
Myth: Alligators are immune to the bite of poisonous snakes.
Fact: 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.
Myth: Only the tail of the alligator is edible.
Fact: Although the tail of the alligator is considered the prime cut, all the meat of the alligator is edible.
Here are some myths and facts I got from http://home.cfl.rr.com/gatorhole/. I also used http://www.fpl.com/environment/endangered/contents/american_alligators.shtm... (FPL).
Take a train down to the Southeast and try wading through the dense swamps and rivers without coming upon an American alligator. These prehistoric animals love hanging out in the swamps and rivers of the Southeast. Alligators live alone( not in packs.) They are huge meat eaters and will eat just about anything that they can catch: fish, turtles, raccoons, birds, dead animals, and even other alligators. Very seldom do they eat humans, though. Almost looking like a floating log an alligator can float motionless in the water with only its eyes and nostrils exposed, waiting for a meal. Alligators cannot chew their meals, so if a small meal comes along such as a fish they snap it up and swallow it whole. If a larger meal comes along they generally seize it and drag it under water to drown it. After that the alligator tears it up into large pieces to swallow.
All alligators are a member of the Reptilla family, which basically means they are reptiles. Weighing 450- 500 pounds American alligators are the largest member of all the members of the croc family in North America and as long as 13-18ft, their tail accounts for half their length. The wild American alligator spends its 35-40 year life span in and around the fresh water swamps and rivers of its watery homeland. Females live in small ponds and males tend to stay in the open water and move from pond to pond to mate during the breeding season.
Breeding season takes place during April and May. A female alligator lays her 20-50 eggs in a nest made of damp, rotting, vegetation, and mud. Then she carefully covers the eggs with more vegetation. The rotting vegetation gives off heat helping to incubate the eggs. The mother alligator remains close to the nest so as to ward off any intruders who might be hungry for baby alligator. In about two to three months the alligators hatch. Alligators don’t make bad mothers. They let their babies follow them around for a few days and even up to a year sometimes, and often let them bask on their head and back.
Did you know that alligators have become quite a popular attraction in the south? Yes, there are even alligator parks and farms now! In the 1970’s all poaching of alligators became illegal, and since then they have made quite a come back from nearly being extinct. People are finally beginning to truly appreciate them.
Myth: Alligators live for hundreds of years.
Fact: Alligators in the wild are believed to live 35 - 50 years. In captivity their life span may be significantly longer, perhaps 60-80 years. Currently, there are no scientific methods of analyzing an alligator’s age while it is alive.
Myth: Alligators can grow to enormous proportions, over 20 feet in length and weighing a ton or more.
Fact: 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 can weigh up to 600 pounds or more.
Myth: Crocodiles and alligators open their jaws differently. The jaws of the crocodile are hinged to open the top jaw, while alligators open their bottom.
Fact: Alligators and crocodiles jaws are hinged the same. Both animals hinge their jaws on the bottom; the top jaw is simply an extension of the skull.
Myth: Alligators are immune to the bite of poisonous snakes.
Fact: 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.
Myth: Only the tail of the alligator is edible.
Fact: Although the tail of the alligator is considered the prime cut, all the meat of the alligator is edible.
Here are some myths and facts I got from http://home.cfl.rr.com/gatorhole/. I also used http://www.fpl.com/environment/endangered/contents/american_alligators.shtm... (FPL).
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