Habitat
Alligators are the largest living reptiles on the planet. Most of the reason they have not evolved in millions of years can be attributed to their anatomy. They have strong muscular tails, conical sharp teeth, and scaly rough skin and are known to be excellent predators, having very few enemies. The American alligator gets tons of sunshine thanks to the flatness of the Florida landscape. This sunshine is vital for the survival of the cold-blooded alligator. Much of the Everglades National Park is covered with freshwater, which acts as the perfect hunting ground. The clear, freshwater allows the alligator to see its prey clearly even from a distance. Big Cypress National Preserve spans over 729,000 wild acres which allows alligators to hunt efficiently with a limited human interaction. In an optimum habitat, the alligator can survive to 60 years old.
A Killing Machine
The alligator is legendary for one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom. But the alligator's jaws are not its only lethal weapon. An alligator is nocturnal in nature and can see very well in the dark. They have a reflective tissue behind the retina of each eye which acts as a mirror concentrate light during the night. Alligators possess a secondary set of eyelids that protect them when they are hunting underwater. They can breathe underwater for long and can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes.
Feeding
The strong jaws of an alligator are capable of cracking the hard shell of a turtle. They feed on fish, snails, frogs, crabs, birds, and mammals such as otters, deer, and even black bears. They seize their prey and hold them in place with their sharp teeth. They have been known to swallow some smaller prey whole while larger prey is shredded into smaller, bite-sized pieces. If the prey is very large, the alligator bites into the carcass and then goes into a death roll so that they can tear it apart. Alligators are most to feed during springtime and feed only about 15 to 20 times in a year.
Breeding
Most male alligator achieve sexual maturity at the age of eight to t years and females may take 10 to 15 years. Males begin to court females during the month of April and they mate in May or June. Females lay about 32 to 50 eggs in a nest built out of vegetation and soil. The eggs take about 60 to 65 days to hatch. The sex of the baby alligator is dependent on the temperature of the nest. Warm nest temperatures produce males where as cool temperatures produce females.
Orignal From: Essential Facts about the American Alligator of the Everglades National Park
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