Michigan City Parks & Recreation Department

Scientific name: Alligator mississippiensis

Size/weight/height
Length: 7 -10 feet
Weight: up to 1,200 lbs.

Lifespan
Wild: 30 – 40 years
Zoo: 56 years

Behavior
When capturing prey, the gator's powerful jaws clamp down upon the victim.  The alligator will then barrel roll under the water to drown it.  Alligators can jump out of the water's edge up to five feet to snatch a meal.

Reproduction
Courtship occurs in the spring, when the temperature is rising. Both sexes communicate using vocal, visual, tactile, and olfactory cues. In about 65 days the eggs will hatch.  Young alligators are about 8 inches (20 cm) long.

Diet
Wild:  Smaller gator's eat invertebrates (particularly insects) and small fish. Adults are carnivorous and eat large aquatic or terrestrial prey that they capture.
Zoo: Rats, chicken

Habitat/range:  Southeastern United States: Alabama, Arkansas, North & South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas.  Primarily freshwater swamps and marshes, but also in rivers, lakes and smaller bodies of water.

Status
Once an endangered species they have made a come back in numbers.

Other
While the alligator's jaws can snap shut with incredible velocity, they possess few muscles to open the mouth.  That is why the alligator's mouth can be easily held closed to treat or relocate an animal safely. An adult alligator has 70 – 80 teeth.

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