alligator

Everyone knows the alligator long and swims. How it is

a greenish color. That they live in water. They eat meat.
Last that they lay eggs.
The taxonomy of an alligator is alligator,
mississippiensis. The largest Florida alligator on record
was 17 feet 5 inches long. Most alligators weight has to
do with how long their body is longer the body the more
weight. An alligators color is a greenish color.

The range of the American Alligator goes south from

coastal swamps in North and South Carolina to the tip
of southern Florida, then west along the Gulf Coast to
the Rio Grande. Alligators live in freshwater lakes,
rivers, and swamps. The climate is usually hot. They
live in swamp lands that have saw grass and lily pads.
 Alligators eat a wide variety of foods including
insects, crabs, crayfish, fish, frogs, snails, turtles,
snakes, coots, grebes, wading birds, raccoons, otters,
deer, and other alligators. Alligators are also known to
eat dead animals. Alligators feed most often when
temperatures are between 73-90°F If prey is small, it
may be swallowed whole. Otherwise the gator will bite
down on it repeatedly. Using a combination of sharp
teeth and tremendously strong jaw muscles, it breaks
bones or shells so the whole item can be swallowed.
Large prey may also be shaken vigorously and slapped
against the water or shore to rip off swallowing-sized
pieces. Alligators role underwater with very large prey,
submerging the victim and drowning it. The dead prey is
dragged around or guarded for several days until the
meat rots enough to be ripped apart. An alligator needs
to eat about once a month.

The main breeding season is from mid April to may and

lasts for six to eight weeks. and lasts for six to eight
weeks. Behaviorists have watched courting alligators
test one another's strength by trying to gently press
each other under water. Eventually the female swims
alongside the male and they mate underwater. This is
repeated in the final several days of the 6-8 week
courtship season. The construction of the nest helps to
maintain a fairly constant incubation temperature and
the sex of the babies is determined by the temperature
inside the nest during the first 3 weeks of incubation.
Eggs at temperatures greater than 91°F develop into
males. Eggs at less than 85°F develop into females.
Eggs in between these temperatures develop into either
males or females. Hatching occurs in mid-August after
about 65 days of incubation. Throughout courtship and
nesting alligators will tend to be protective of their
domain. Mother alligators are very protective of their
offspring, which may stay near her for over two years,
sometimes sitting on her back and head. The babies
need all the help they can get - they are eaten by
raccoons, otters, herons, snakes, fish, bullfrogs, and
even other alligators.

Alligators are endanger do to hunting now hunting is

illage.

So in conclusion alligators are more complicated than

we think. They only need to eat about a month. They
live in swamps. They can be 17 feet long.