ALLIGATORS

Alligators are members of an order of animals called crocodilians.

Crocodilians include alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials.
Alligators are reptiles, a group of animals that includes snakes, lizards, and turtles.
In the wild, an American alligator generally lives to be 35 to 50 years old. Alligators can live
longerfor 60 to 80 yearsin captivity.
Fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals (sometimes even pets) are all on an alligator's
favorite menu. They'll eat just about any meatincluding animals that are already dead.
American alligators live in the wild in the southeastern United States. You're most likely to
spot them in Florida and Louisiana, where they live in rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps,
bayous, and marshes. These reptiles are kind of clumsy on land, but they're built for life in
the water. Great swimmers, they are equipped with webbed feet and strong tails that
propel them through the water.
An average male American alligator is 10 to 15 feet (three to five meters) long. Half of its
length is its massive, strong tail. An alligator can weigh as much as half a ton (1,000
pounds), but an average male weighs between 500 and 600 pounds (227 to 272
kilograms). Females are usually smaller than males.
As big and ferocious as the female alligator may look, she is a gentle mother. A mother
alligator makes a nest on shore, where she lays her eggs. Then she guards her eggs until
they're ready to hatch. At that point the babies start to make noises, and their mother
hears her little ones' peeps as they break out of the eggs. She gently carries themin her
mouthto the water nearby.
Newly hatched young are only about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long, and
very vulnerable. Their mother protects them from predators, which include raccoons,
bobcats, birds, and even other alligators. The young alligators stay with their mother for
up to two years. After that, they're able to fend for themselves.
DID YOU KNOW?
A quick way to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile is to look at them
when their mouths are closed. If only the upper teeth show, it's an alligator. If both upper
and lower teeth show, it's a crocodile.

ALLIGATORS

Alligators are members of an order of animals called crocodilians.
Crocodilians include alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials.
Alligators are reptiles, a group of animals that includes snakes, lizards, and turtles.
In the wild, an American alligator generally lives to be 35 to 50 years old. Alligators can live
longerfor 60 to 80 yearsin captivity.
Fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals (sometimes even pets) are all on an alligator's
favorite menu. They'll eat just about any meatincluding animals that are already dead.
American alligators live in the wild in the southeastern United States. You're most likely to
spot them in Florida and Louisiana, where they live in rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps,
bayous, and marshes. These reptiles are kind of clumsy on land, but they're built for life in
the water. Great swimmers, they are equipped with webbed feet and strong tails that
propel them through the water.
An average male American alligator is 10 to 15 feet (three to five meters) long. Half of its
length is its massive, strong tail. An alligator can weigh as much as half a ton (1,000
pounds), but an average male weighs between 500 and 600 pounds (227 to 272
kilograms). Females are usually smaller than males.
As big and ferocious as the female alligator may look, she is a gentle mother. A mother
alligator makes a nest on shore, where she lays her eggs. Then she guards her eggs until
they're ready to hatch. At that point the babies start to make noises, and their mother
hears her little ones' peeps as they break out of the eggs. She gently carries themin her
mouthto the water nearby.
Newly hatched young are only about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long, and
very vulnerable. Their mother protects them from predators, which include raccoons,
bobcats, birds, and even other alligators. The young alligators stay with their mother for
up to two years. After that, they're able to fend for themselves.
DID YOU KNOW?
A quick way to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile is to look at them
when their mouths are closed. If only the upper teeth show, it's an alligator. If both upper
and lower teeth show, it's a crocodile.