Scientific Name:
Alligator mississippiensis
Distribution
Southeast USA
Diet:
Carnivorous. Fish, frogs, snakes, small to large mammals. Hatching feed on insects and freshwater shrimp.
Facts
Habitat: Freshwater swamps and marshes, rivers, lakes, brackish mangrove swamps
Incubation period: 65 days, 35-50 eggs.
Social structure: Solitary, loose social groups
Weight: 450kg max
Dimensions: Length: 6m max
Estimated population in the wild: unknown
Lifespan: 35-50 years in the wild
Threats: During the1950s it was in danger of extinction due to hunting for its skin. Today’s threats are habitat loss and degradation and pollution which results to low reproductive success and deformities.
IUCN Status: Least concern
Did you know that:
- It is considered to be a living fossil, having survived on earth in the same form for 200 million years.
- The temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings.
- Before hatching the hatchlings make noises. This way the mother is called to dig them out and then carries them to the water in her jaws.
- It is the most vocal of all crocodilians.