alligator

1 leather made from alligator's hide

2 either of two amphibious reptiles related to crocodiles but with with shorter broader snouts [syn: gator] v : of paint, varnish, or the like: to crack and acquire the appearance of alligator hide, as from weathering or improper application

English

Etymology 1

alligator

1. One who binds or ties.

Etymology 2

el lagarto, the lizard

Pronunciation

• (UK): /ˈælɪgeɪtə/, /"

Description

The Alligator has been described as 'a living fossil from the Age of Reptiles, having survived on earth for 200 million years'.

Habitat

Alligators are native to only two countries: the United States and China. In the Southeast U.S., Alligators are found in most freshwater and brackish areas.

Location

American Alligators are found in the subtropical southeast US: all of Florida and Louisiana; the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; coastal South and North Carolina; Southeastern Texas and in extreme southeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. The majority of American Alligators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. American Alligators live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and swamps, as well as brackish environments. Southern Florida is the only place where both alligators and crocodiles live side by side.

Behavior

Large male alligators are solitary, territorial animals. Smaller alligators can often be found in large numbers in close proximity to each other. The largest of the species (both males and females), will defend prime territory; smaller alligators have a higher tolerance of other alligators within a similar size class. Although alligators have heavy bodies and slow metabolisms, they are capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. Alligators' main prey are smaller animals that they can kill and eat with a single bite. Alligators may kill larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it in the water to drown. Alligators consume food that cannot be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot or by biting and then spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-size pieces are torn off. This is referred to as the "death roll." A hard-wired response developed over millions of years of evolution, even juvenile alligators execute death rolls when presented with chunks of meat. Critical to the alligator's ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. Immobilizing an alligator's tail incapacitates its ability to begin a death roll.

Diet

When young they eat fish, insects, snails, crustaceans, and worms. As they grow, they take progressively larger prey items, including larger fish such as gar, turtles, various mammals, birds, antelope and other reptiles. Their stomachs also often contain gastroliths. They will even consume carrion if they are sufficiently hungry. Adult alligators can take razorbacks and deer and are well known to kill and eat smaller alligators. In some cases, larger alligators have been known to hunt the Florida panther and bears, making it the apex predator throughout its distribution. As humans encroach onto their habitat, attacks on humans are few but not unknown. Alligators, unlike the large crocodiles, do not immediately regard a human upon encounter as prey, but may still attack in self-defense if provoked.

Attacks on humans

Human deaths caused by alligators have increased. While there were only nine fatal attacks in the U.S.A. between 1970 and 2000, eleven people were killed by alligators in the five years between 2001 and 2006 alone.

Reproduction

Alligators generally mature at a length of six feet (1.8 m). The mating season is in early spring. The female builds a nest of vegetation where the decomposition of the vegetation provides the heat needed to incubate the eggs. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest and is fixed within 7 to 21 days of the start of incubation. Incubation temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F) or lower produce a clutch of females; those of 34 °C (93 °F) or higher produce entirely males. Nests constructed on levees are hotter than those constructed on wet marsh and, thus, the former tend to produce males and the latter, females. The natural sex ratio at hatching is five females to one male. Females hatched from eggs incubated at 30 °C weigh significantly more than males hatched from eggs incubated at 34 °C.[3] The mother will defend the nest from predators and will assist the hatchlings to water. She will provide protection to the young for about a year if they remain in the area. The largest threat to the young are adult alligators. Predation by adults on young can account for a mortality rate of up to fifty percent in the first year. In the past, immediately following the outlawing of alligator hunting, populations rebounded quickly due to the suppressed number of adults preying upon the new recruits, increasing survival among the young alligators. The mother keeps the young for one year.

Farming

Alligator farming is a big and growing industry in Florida, Texas and Louisiana. These states produce a combined annual total of some 45,000 alligator hides. Alligator hides bring good prices and hides in the 6-7 foot (1.8-2 m) range have sold for $300 each, though the price can fluctuate considerably from year to year. The market for alligator meat is growing and approximately 300,000 pounds (140 000 kg) of meat is produced annually. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, raw alligator meat contains roughly 200 calories per 3oz (85 g) serving size, of which 27 calories come from fat.

Differences between alligators and crocodiles

While alligators are often confused with crocodiles, they belong to two quite separate taxonomic families. Every type of crocodile, except the American crocodile, is usually larger and heavier than alligators, has fewer teeth, and has a shorter life-span. Alligators differ from crocodiles principally in having wider and shorter heads, with more obtuse snouts; in lacking a jagged fringe which appears on the hind legs and feet of the crocodile; in having the toes of the hind feet webbed not more than half way to the tips; and an intolerance to salinity. Alligators strongly prefer fresh water, while crocodiles can tolerate salt water due to specialized glands for filtering out salt.

Media

See also

• List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States by decade

References

External links

• Crocodilian Online
• Photo exhibit on Alligators in Florida; made available by the State Archives of Florida
• Everglades National Park Alligators
• Temperature of egg incubation determines sex
• Interview Seminole alligator wrestler; made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida