Facts about American Alligators

These ancient reptiles are amazing creatures and there are so many fascinating facts about American Alligators to learn. My personal obsession with Amercan Alligators began when I moved to Florida and first encountered them. After that, I was soon reading books, watching videos and observing alligators at every opportunity that I had. Before that time I did not even know the difference between alligators and crocodiles. Anyway, here are my facts about American Alligators.

The American alligator lives in south eastern United States. The biggest populations are in Louisiana and Florida, but they can also be found in parts of Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North and South Carolina.

The American alligator habitat is usually freshwater environments such as ponds, rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes and wetlands. Occasionally American alligators will venture into brackish water (mixture of salt and freshwater) but they cannot survive in sea water very long (unlike the American crocodile).

The alligator’s name comes from a distortion of the Spanish term, “el lagarto”, which means, "the lizard".

The American alligator diet usually includes fish, turtles, snakes, amphibians, birds, turtles, and mammals. Adult American alligators will prey on deer, dogs, boars, sheep and cattle and have even been known to kill and eat bear cubs and panthers.

Mating season is in the Spring when male alligators can be heard bellowing to warn off other males. Large numbers of males can sometimes gather for group courtship at this time, behaviour that is nicknamed “alligator dances”. The female builds a nest of mud, leaves, stick and vegetation near or in the water and lays between 20 and 50 eggs which she covers with vegetation. The young hatchlings spend about 5 months with their mother before leaving them and reach adulthood after around 8 to 13 years.

The largest American alligator ever caught was 19 feet 2 inches (5.84m) but male alligators are typically between 11 and 14 feet in length (3.4 to 4.4m) and the females slightly smaller at beteen 8 and 10 feet (2.5 to 3.0 m).

One of the most interesting facts about alligators is that aside from the American alligator, the only other species of alligator in the world is the Chinese alligator, which lives in the Yangtze RiverValley. The Chinese alligator is smaller than the American alligator and severely threatened - more exist in international zoos than in the wild, where their numbers occur only in the dozens.

Southern Florida is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The American crocodile only lives to the south of Miami however, as it is sensitive to cold. There are far more alligators than crocodiles in the USA as a whole. There are 5 easy ways to tell crocodiles and alligators apart.

American alligators are typically a blackish gray color, but their color can vary slightly according to the water they inhabit with tannin rich water (from overhanging trees) making them darker, and algae in the water making them greener.

One of the more surprising facts about American alligators is that although they can be dangerous, attacks on humans are rare. American alligators are normally relatively timid and avoid humans when possible, only attacking if they are either provoked, disturbed unexpectedly, or defending their young. In Florida, there have been 275 unprovoked attacks by alligators on humans since 1948, and 17 deaths.

The American alligator has a very powerful bite, which has evolved so that it can crack open things like turtle shells, which form part of its diet. One of the most impressive facts about American alligators, that is sometimes quoted, is that the force of their bite has been shown to be enough to lift a small pick up truck!  Another, more peculiar alligator fact is that although the muscles for closing the mouth are very strong, the ones for opening it are very weak, meaning the mouth can be held shut with a human hand or duct tape.

Alligator farming is a large and expanding industry, producing alligator hides and meat. The farms can be found in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Louisiana. Hides can sell for around $300 each. The meat is traditionally used in jambalayas, stews and soups.

Due to excessive hunting, American alligators were threatened with extinction by the 1960s, but due to a combination of protective legislation, alligator farms, and efforts to support their habitat, their numbers have now recovered. There is a regulated legal trade in alligator hides.

What is the difference between alligators and crocodiles?

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Alligator pictures taken at Lake Alice, Gainesville FL

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