The real facts about alligators of Florida

Alligators, known for their bone crushing attacks, are fearsome reptiles which derive their name from the Spanish word el lagarto which means ‘the lizard’. Alligators are native to The United States and China and in the United States of America they are found in many states including Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama among others. The alligators in Florida are found in the everglades and can survive in swamps, rivers, lakes, ponds and other freshwater habitat.

The Florida alligator measures between 6 to 12 feet, with the largest alligator measuring a whopping 17 feet and 5 inches. These alligators were once considered endangered as their numbers were drastically reduced due to hunting. The alligator hides fetch a lot of money and so these Florida alligators were hunted in large numbers during the middle of the 1900s. The number of alligators dwindled and forced the government to enact laws that prevented the hunting of crocodiles and placed these alligators in the endangered list in 1973. These alligator laws in Florida have ensured that the number of alligators has increased and the number is as high as 1-1.5 million, removing the alligators of Florida from the endangered list and moving them over to the list of threatened animals. The increase in the number of alligators in Florida has prompted these alligators into becoming symbols of Florida, with a large number spotted often.

The Florida alligators walk easily on land and have 5 toes in their front feet to aid them in this process. The back feet are webbed and aid in swimming in waters. These alligators have powerful muscles in their jaw and this assists them when they bite into their food. However, the muscles that are used for opening their mouth are not so good and so even tape can hold it shut. In comparison with other species of alligators, the alligators of Florida are shorter and they become sexually mature later in life. These alligators are also tolerant to temperatures like the cold which will not allow proliferation of other species of alligators, including American crocodiles. The alligators remain on land under the sun to get warmth and move in to the water when they require cold temperatures.

These Florida alligators are shy creatures that stay away from humans. Many of these large imposing creatures move away or duck into waters when they see humans. However, when people feed these alligators, they begin to associate humans with food and move towards them. In order to avoid this, Florida alligators should never be fed anything.

Since a very low percentage of these alligators survive to adult hood in the wild, nearly half of the eggs laid by the female alligator can be removed without affecting the stability of the population.

The alligators of Florida feed on fish, turtles and even snakes, all of which they swallow whole instead of biting. When larger animals like deers are attacked, they are dragged into the water to allow the prey to drown. Once the prey is dead, they are allowed to rot or are subjected to the ‘death roll’. The death roll occurs when the alligator tosses the prey around in a mad frenzy to throw out chunks of flesh on which they can feed. This is a famous act of these alligators and is done to avoid chewing on big pieces of flesh. Instead of chewing, these small chunks are swallowed as a whole. These Florida alligators generally feed during the night

The mating season of these Florida alligators is usually in the months of April and May. After successful mating, these alligators lay about 10 to nearly 70 eggs and these eggs are buried under sand. The eggs are allowed to incubate for a period of 2 months. The temperature under which the eggs are incubated determines the sex of the alligator. Warmer temperature gives rise to male alligators. Once the eggs hatch, the female alligator takes them in her jaw and into the water. The colourful male alligators have a shrill cry to attract the adult mother alligator in times of danger as the male baby crocodiles are frequently attacked by predators as a result of their bright disposition. Adult male alligators of Florida feed on the young ones during times of hunger.

The Florida fish and game commission have a nuisance alligator program that helps those Florida residents when these alligators pose a threat. These Florida alligators are then trapped and moved away. Since these alligators can find their way home even across large distances, they are sometimes sold for their skin and the money is used for further funding of this program.

Florida residents boast of an alligator point in Florida which is situated in the Franklin County in the United States. This is an unincorporated place where a large number of writers, artists, academicians and others flock to be a part of the alligator point fishing and writing club.

There are many alligator farms in Florida that boast of a large number of alligators laced with plenty of adventure. Airboat rides are offered by which visitors are taken to alligator shows where the curator of the park explains in detail about alligator behaviour and their habitat. There is even an option to photograph oneself with baby alligators or baby snakes to add to the thrill of the entire experience. These alligator farms in Florida are a big attraction and draw a large number of tourists.

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