RNL01AIN5X_INO11_1-20_ 05/25/2001 4:15 AM Page FC1

Alligators
and the
Everglades

by Patricia Ann Lynch

illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
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Photo Credits: Cover, W. Perry Conway/Corbis; title page, John D. Cunningham;

p. 2, S. Maslowski/Visuals Unlimited; p. 3, Rick Poley/Visuals Unlimited; p. 6, Nada Pecnik/Visuals
Unlimited; p. 8, Nada Pecnik/Visuals Unlimited; p. 10, National Park Services;
p. 11, G. Perkins/Visuals Unlimited; p. 12, Stock Montage; p. 13, KirkCondyles/ImpactVisuals/PictureQuest;
p. 15, Everglades National Park; p. 16, J.B. Diederich/Contact Press Images/PictureQuest

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Alligators
and the
Everglades

by Patricia Ann Lynch

illustrated by Richard Cowdrey

Orlando Boston Dallas Chicago San Diego

Visit The Learning Site!
www.harcourtschool.com
RNL01AIN5X_INO11_1-20_ 05/25/2001 3:23 AM Page 2

The Florida Everglades is a huge wetland. It is not a

swamp, as many think. It is a long, shallow river system.
For eons, the river’s waters flowed freely down the
Florida peninsula from Lake Okeechobee to the sea.
Today, the Everglades is no longer a free-flowing
river. Early settlers viewed the area as a wasteland. They
began to drain it to create dry land for homes and farms.
Today, thousands of miles of canals drain water from the
area.
A dam now holds back Lake Okeechobee’s waters.
Huge artificial lakes called water conservation areas
store the water. Dams control the water flow. Some of the
water is allowed to flow into Everglades National Park.
However, this is not the same as a natural water flow.

Lake Okeechobee

Everglades
National Park

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Water: Key to Life

The Everglades wetland is home to many creatures.
They depend on it for water, food, and shelter.
Water has always been the key to life in the Ever-
glades. The seasons swing between flood and drought.
The rainy season is from May to October. Sixty inches of
rain can fall then. With the start of the dry season in
November, however, the rains end. The Everglades
begins to dry up.
Higher areas become dry land. Grasses and reeds
turn brown and die. Lightning causes wildfires that burn
large areas. As the dry season advances, the water level
drops. Finally, only scattered water holes and channels
are left.

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Surviving the Dry Season

What happens to the creatures that
make the Everglades their home? Each
species deals with the dry season in
its own way.
Fish retreat to the few remaining
water holes. Birds fly off to wetter
places. Deer and other animals wan-
der in search of water. Snails, frogs,
and turtles dig down into the mud. They
wall themselves off. Then they go into a state like
hibernation. When the rains return, they emerge.
Many creatures die in the dry season. During long
droughts, up to 90 percent of the fish may die. When
the fish die, there is no food for the birds and animals
that eat them, so they also die.
One animal helps the Everglades’ wildlife survive:
the alligator.

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Gator Holes
Alligators dig deep holes with their snouts and
large, sweeping tails. These holes become small
ponds. “Gator holes” are among the few places
where standing water remains in the winter.
As the Everglades dry out, many creatures
retreat to gator holes. These holes become a home
for many insects, turtles, fish, and wading birds.
There, they survive the dry times. When the rainy
season returns, the animals spread out again. In this
way, alligators help keep the Everglades’ wildlife
alive.

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An alligator eats fish, turtles, birds, snakes, and small

animals. Do they eat the creatures that share their gator
holes?
The answer is sometimes. Mostly, though, the alliga-
tor saves its energy during the dry season. It moves very
little and lives off its own fat. It tends to ignore its new
neighbors. They, in turn, live off the gator hole’s smaller
fish, insects, and plants.
During long droughts, an alligator may dig a cave
into the side of the hole. It can survive for months in this
damp cave even if the gator hole dries up.

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The Everglades Food Chain

Have you ever pondered the reason for mosquitoes?
You probably don’t think of a mosquito as important.
However, mosquitoes are an important part of the
Everglades food chain. Their larvae, or young, are a
major food source for fish. Alligators play a large role
in keeping this food chain going.
A female mosquito lays her eggs in standing water.
When the larvae hatch, small fish eat them. Larger fish
eat the small fish. In turn, the larger fish become food
for alligators. Alligators dig the gator holes in which
mosquitoes lay their eggs. This starts the cycle all over
again. It creates a plenitude of mosquitoes to provide
food for fish.

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Alligator Information
What is this important creature—the alligator? It is a
large, lizardlike reptile. The American alligator lives in
the southeastern United States. The only other alligator
in the world is the Chinese alligator. It is endangered
and may be extinct.
Alligators are ancient animals. They have been
around for at least 200 million years!
An alligator’s eyes, ears, and nostrils are on top of its
long head. As it floats on the water, these stick out above
the surface. When the alligator is drifting, it looks just
like a log. Surprise! Suddenly the alligator springs to life
and snaps up a meal.
Alligators may also wait for prey underwater. They
can hold their breaths for long periods of time. A special
valve in their hearts helps them do this.

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Fun Alligator Facts

1. An alligator has 75–80 teeth. When they
wear down, they are replaced. An alli-
gator might grow more than 2,000 teeth
in its lifetime!
2. The nest temperature determines the
gender of the young alligators. If the
temperature is below 86°F (30°C), they
will all be female. If the temperature is
above 93°F (34°C), they will all be male.
In-between temperatures produce both
genders.
3. Most reptiles abandon their eggs after
laying them. Yet, alligator mothers may
stay with their young for as long as
three years!
4. In the wild, an alligator lives 30–35
years. In captivity, it can live up to 50
years.
5. An adult male alligator can reach a
length of 11–12 feet (3.3 m) and weigh
400–500 pounds (180–228 kg)!

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Nest-Building Time
In mid-June, female alligators start building their
nests. They build near water, usually in a gator hole.
The nest is made of plant materials—leaf mold, twigs,
and reeds. The alligator scrapes plants and mud into a
mound. Then she digs a hole in the top. She lays 20 to 50
eggs in the hole and covers them with more twigs and
other plant material.
The mounded nest raises the eggs above the water.
This protects them from flooding, which could kill them.
The heat produced by decaying nest material keeps the
eggs at the right temperature.
As with gator holes, an alligator’s nest mound be-
comes a home to many creatures. Turtles lay their eggs
in the mound. Swamp rabbits and raccoons live there.
Wading birds catch fish in the gator hole near the
mound.
Inside the mound, the eggs develop for about 60
days. The female alligator stays nearby. She returns to
the nest often to moisten and care for it. When she hears
croaking from inside the mound, she
digs it open. This helps the young
alligators escape.
After hatching, the babies
head for the nearest water.
Their mother may even carry
them there.

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At Home in the Pod

Newly hatched alligators stay together in a pod.
Young alligators are in great danger. Raccoons, birds,
and even large fish prey on them. Adult male alligators
may also eat them. Living in a pod offers the babies pro-
tection. Their mother also stays nearby. She protects
them until they are large enough to survive on their
own.
Adult alligators are dark in color. This makes them
hard to see in the water and on land. Young alligators
are black with bright yellow stripes. The light-and-dark
pattern helps them blend in with reeds and other plants.

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Alligators in Danger
Alligator skin makes a high-quality leather that in the
past was used for shoes, belts, and suitcases. Because of
this, hunters killed alligators by the thousands. By 1967,
alligators were almost extinct. People were not allowed
to hunt alligators, but
poachers continued to
kill alligators illegally.
This is because it was
still legal to sell alliga-
tor hides. The laws had
to be changed. Stop-
ping the sale of alliga-
tor hides finally ended
the poaching, and alli-
gators began making a
comeback. In 1979,
they were taken off the
endangered species list.
When alligators die
off, so do other Ever-
glades animals.
Vegetation grows over abandoned gator holes. It fills
in the water channels alligators create when they move
around. During the dry season, there are fewer places
where animals can find water.

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When alligators were almost extinct, other Everglades

animals came close to extinction too. As the alligator
population grew, other animals began to increase in
number.
In spite of their recovery, alligators are still threat-
ened. The biggest threat comes from artificially
controlled water levels. Too much water released by
dams at the wrong time can drown alligator eggs. It can
also make it hard for wildlife to find food. Too little
water can make it hard for wildlife to find water. In both
cases, many animals die.
Huge sugar cane farms north of Everglades National
Park drain off large amounts of water. That means there
is less water to be released into the park. The dry season
has become even dryer.

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Endangered Species
An endangered species is a kind of plant or animal that
is in danger of extinction. If an animal is extinct, it
doesn’t exist anymore. In the Everglades, two things
threaten life. These are loss of habitat and changes in
water flow. The following are some of the creatures that
are endangered today:

Butterflies: Schaus swallowtail

Rodents: Key Largo wood rat, Key

Largo cotton mouse

Mammals: Florida panther, West

Indian manatee

Birds: snail kite, southern bald

eagle, Arctic peregrine falcon, Cape
Sable seaside sparrow, wood stork

Reptiles and Amphibians: Atlantic

Ridley turtle, green turtle, hawks-
bill turtle, American crocodile,
leatherback turtle

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Other Threats to the Everglades

The creation of Everglades National Park in 1947
was a beginning step in saving this special area. Wildlife
within the park is protected. However, conditions out-
side the park affect life inside it.
Humans have changed the balance of nature in the
Everglades. Water flow is no longer natural. Less water
is available when it is needed the most. Even worse,
runoff from farms pollutes the water. Fertilizer wastes
and pesticides poison wildlife.
People outside the park planted trees and plants from
other parts of the world. These alien plants spread into
the Everglades. They are growing out of control. Non-
native plants are taking the place of the area’s natural
plants and trees.

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Restoring the Balance

The problems of the Everglades have received national
attention in recent years. People like environmentalists
and politicians have scurried to find ways to help. Some
of the following efforts may help restore the balance:

• The federal government has approved the idea of

increasing the size of Everglades National Park.
• The state of Florida is attacking the problem of
chemical pollution.
• In 1996, President Bill Clinton approved a plan to
take farmland out of production. The land will be
returned to wetland. Nonnative plants and trees
will be removed.
• In 2000, Congress and President Clinton approved a
$7.8 billion Everglades restoration project. Its aim is to
restore water flows and increase wildlife populations.

As long as people continue to work hard to protect the

Everglades, this national treasure will remain a safe home
for alligators and many, many other creatures.

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Think and Respond

1 How could you use the headings in this book to
help you remember what you have read?
2 Find three examples of words in this book with
prefixes and suffixes. Explain how the meaning of
the prefix or suffix helped you understand the
meaning of the word.
3 What is the main idea of this book?
4 How do you think the author feels about
alligators? What clues do you get from the book?
5 Compare the environmental problems facing the
Everglades with those in another area you know.
How are they the same? How are they different?
6 What did you learn about the Everglades that sur-
prised you? Why?

Cycle of the Seasons Diagram Draw a

diagram showing the cycle of the seasons in
the Everglades. Your diagram should show
conditions in the rainy season and the dry season. Add
labels to make the cycle clear.

School-Home Connection Share with a

family member what you have learned about
the Everglades and its problems. You may want to work
together in writing a letter to the President supporting
the Everglades restoration project.