![]() | WildlifeAlligators |
Alligators at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Florida. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
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Where can we see alligators?
Alligators are native to the
southeast and can be found living in
freshwater pools, rivers, and swamps
from North Carolina to the Rio Grande
in Texas. St. Marks National Wildlife
Refuge is home to many, many
alligators. You might see them laying on
the bank or maybe just their eyes and
snout as they cruise the pools
Drive carefully and
watch out for wildlife.
You never know what
might be around the
next curve!
Facts About
ALLIGATORS
St. Marks
National Wildlife Refuge
Where Wildlife Comes First!
Do alligators go into salt water?
Yes! Sometimes they like to take
a dip in Apalachee Bay but they are
really fresh water animals.
Where do alligators go when it gets
cold?
As cold-blooded reptiles,
meaning they cannot regulate their
body temperature. They scoop out an
underwater burrow that can be up to 65
feet long and retreat to their burrows
when the temperatures are too hot or
too cold.
How do alligators eat?
Alligators eat almost anything
they want. They grasp larger animals in
their jaws and spin to tear off a
manageable piece. They store the rest of
the carcass in their under water burrow
to be eaten later.
How much does an alligator weigh?
A large male gator can weigh as
much as 1000 pounds—half a ton!
Photo by George Burton
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
PO Box 68
St. Marks, FL 32355
850-925-6121
www.fws.gov/saintmarks/
Collecting or taking any plants, animals, or
artifacts from federal lands is prohibited.
Our 'gators are large
Across the road they amble
DRIVE 35
Don’t take a gamble!
The American alligator (Alligator
mississippiensis), has been on earth for
about 150,000,000 (one hundred and
fifty million!) years. The first alligators
looked different than the reptile we see
today, but they’ve outlived dinosaurs.
Male and female alligators look alike
but adult males (11.2 feet average) are
larger than adult females (8.2 feet
average). reach sexual maturity when
they are about 6 feet (1.8 meters) long,
a length attained at about 10 to 12
years. Both reach sexual maturity
when they are about 6 feet long which
takes at least 10 years.
Toward the end of August, the
young alligators begin making highpitched noises from inside of the egg
to let the mother know to remove the
nesting material.
Courtship starts in April, with
mating usually occurring in early May.
Breeding takes place at night in
shallow waters. Males roar to attract
females and to warn off other males.
Photo by Tom Darragh
Alligators have 74-80 teeth. As their
teeth wear down new ones come in. An
alligator can go through 3,000 teeth in
their lifetime!
The muscles used to close their jaws
are powerful but the muscles used to
open their jaw are much less strong.
They eat almost anything, even fruit.
Strong acids help digest the bones, fur,
and shells of the animals they eat.
They can “hear” underwater. Each of
the spots along their jaws are nerves
which alert the gator to even slight
splashing in the water. If detected, the
alligator will rush to investigate a
possible meal even if it isn’t hungry at
the moment.
After mating, the female builds a
nest from vegetation and lays around
35-50 eggs in late June to early July.
Some females can lay up to 90 eggs!
She covers the eggs with grasses and
stays near the nest to prevent
predators from taking the eggs until
they hatch which take about 65 days.
The sex of the babies is determined
by the temperature of the nest. A
temperature of 89.6° F produces 75 %
males and 90.5° F and above are
mostly females. Other reptiles
sometimes use alligator nests to
incubate their
own eggs.
A new hatchling
is 6-8 inches long.
They live close
together in small
groups, called
pods.
Photo by Karen Willes
They look dead. They are not dead and
move extraordinarily fast when needed!
Photo by Nick Baldwin
A new hatchling is the perfect snack
size for wading birds, raccoons,
bobcats, turtles, shakes, large fish,
turtles - and larger alligators! About
80% do not survive.
She may not look like it, but the
mother protects her babies during
their early years. Crocodilians are one
of the only orders of reptiles that offer
maternal care to their young. The
juveniles grow about a foot a year.
Once they are about 4 feet long they
are safe from predators except larger
alligators and humans.
In the wild, alligators can live to
about 50 years.
If you see an alligator on the trail,
stop and wait (patiently) until it
moves on.