![]() If an egg doesn't hatch properly, the female may gently break the egg in her massive jaws to help the hatchling get out, and may even carry some hatchlings to the water in her mouth. Soon the whole clutch is chirping to signal mother alligator it's time to leave the nest. It begins to chirp even before it has emerged from the egg. The hatchling develops an "egg tooth" on top of its snout to slit open the egg. A light flashed on an alligator at night will reflect a blazing red eye that does not blink with charity to anything within range of its formidable jaws. They will hunt anytime, but particularly at night where they are well adapted with a good sense of smell and vision in the darkness. Still, they mostly shy away from humans unless they are fed, challenged, or foolishly approached or harassed.Īlligators bask in the sun to increase the heat of their cold-blooded bodies before returning to the water to cruise and stalk prey. The winners are sometimes badly scarred and alligators with missing legs, bobtails, or blinded eyes are not uncommon. Alligators will eat almost anything, including each other they bite and fight to eat, court, defend, or protect their territory. ![]() Alligators can be vicious fighters during breading season. For two months every year alligators fight to see who gets to court the female or "sow" alligators. A giant male or "bull" alligator begins bellowing in the spring to attract females and warn other suitors to stay away. ![]() The breeding season in April and May begins a life cycle that evolved from prehistoric times. For this reason alligators enter underground holes and remain dormant through the winter months. Because alligators are cold blooded their body rates are slowed down during the winter months to the point where they can no longer catch or digest food efficiently. This is why alligators are seen basking in the sun, trying to regulate their body temperature. Reptiles are cold blooded animals, which means that their body temperature is regulated by the temperature of the environment around them. Today, Louisiana and Florida have the most alligators, over one million wild alligators in each state with additional alligators on farms. The name alligator comes from early Spanish explorers who called them "El legarto" or "big lizard" when they first saw these giant reptiles. The first reptiles appeared 300 million years ago and ancestors of the American alligator appeared 200 million years ago. The American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis) is the largest reptile in North America.
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