Alligator Facts
A Few Alligator Facts You Might Like to Know
There are many obscure alligator facts, and here are some you might find interesting.
The American Alligator is a member of the order Crocodylia, the family Alligatoridae and the genus and species Alligator mississippiensis.
The average size of a female adult alligator, facts confirm, is about 8.2 feet. The average size for a male is 11.2 feet.
Males and females both have a body that is “armored”, and a flat, muscular tail. The skin on their backs has bony plates called scutes or osteoderms. Alligators have very short legs, and the front legs have five toes while the back legs have four toes.
If you see a very heavy specimen, it is probably a male alligator. Facts have been reported that have some extremely large males weighing in at nearly 1000 pounds.
Alligators have long snouts, and they have nostrils that face upwards, at the end of the snout. In this way, they can breathe and watch for prey, while the rest of their body is submerged. Young alligators have yellow stripes on their tail, and adults have darker stripes on their tails.
To distinguish a crocodile from an alligator, facts report, look at the teeth. The fourth tooth in the alligator's lower jaw fits into a socket and you can't see it if the mouth is closed. This does not occur in crocodiles.
Alligators have between 74 and 80 teeth, and as they wear down or are chipped, they are replaced by new teeth. An alligator may go through two to three thousand teeth over the course of its life.
Female alligators, facts state, usually stay in the same small area, while males may patrol an area that is two square miles or larger. Both sexes have larger areas during breeding season.
Young alligators remain in the area their mother inhabits, and she protects them. After several years, they move away from their home area to find more food. Sometimes they are driven out of the area by larger gators.
Alligators go dormant when the weather turns very cold. They dig holes called “gator holes” alongside a waterway, and they stay inside them when they are dormant.
In areas where the water level is not constant, alligators will dig into mud hollows, which then fill with water. These tunnels can be sixty-five feet long, and they offer protection for the alligators during very cold or hot weather. After they abandon tunnels, other animals sometimes use them.
The American alligator is found from the Rio Grande in Texas to the coast of North Carolina, but most live in Florida or Louisiana. They prefer slow-moving freshwater streams and rivers. They can often be seen in swamps and marshlands as well. They can tolerate salt water, but only for a brief period.