Howcan alligators be described? Alligators are interesting animals because oftheir ability to make gator holes. Gator holes are a benefit to other wildlifeafter winter is over. The alligator can be described by understanding itsappearance, behavior, and habitat.Thescales of an alligator is an important part of its appearance.
They are usuallyblack or green in color. Alligators have thick, scaly skin. Bony plates calledscutes are covering their back, and alligator's bellies are creamy white. Full,circular snouts give their faces a special architecture (10).
In the late1800s, alligators were frequently chased for their skins. The velvety whiteundersides of their covers up were utilized to make packs, belts, and shoes (38).Alligators have thick skin covered in sales. Their scales are rectangle likeprotective layer (6). Alligators dim color skin supports then to absorb of thesun (13). Baby alligators are quite small in comparison to their mother.
Theyalso have more brightly colored skin, with black and yellow bands running downtheir bodies (Daly 30). An alligator's nose is a verydistinctive appearance of telling an alligator and crocodiles apart. Wide,rounded snouts give their faces a distinctive shape (10). An alligator floats very close to thesurface when it is in the water. The scutes on its back and the nostrils at theend of its snout stick out above, while the rest of its body stays hiddenunderwater. As a result, an alligator often looks a lot like a floating log.
Since its nostrils point upward, the alligator can breathe while the scutesabsorb warmth from the sun (Daly 13).Alligatorshave made a dramatic come back in the last 30 years. American alligators onceforced extinction. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed them onthe endangered species list in 1967.
Fortunately, the legal protection worked.Just 20 years later, American alligators were taken off the list (3). Broughtback from the brink of extinction, over a million of these reptiles survivetoday. Now the main threat to alligators is habitat destruction, caused by suchhuman activities as drain and devolving wetlands (American). An average maleAmerican alligator is 10 to 15 feet long. Half of its length is its massivetail.
An alligator can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds but an average male weighsbetween 500 and 600 pounds. Females are usually smaller than males (22). Newlyhatched young are only about six to eight inches long, and very vulnerable(Daly 30). Swimming is an important part in analligator's life their a little awkward on land. An alligator uses its snout tolocate food when it is underwater.
The bumps on an alligator's snout areactually specialized pressure sensors. They are so sensitive that they can feeleven the slightest ripple in the water. Alligators have a second set of cleareyelids under their regular ones. These eyelids allow them to see clearly whileunderwater. When an alligator is below the surface, muscles in its nostrilsclose up.
A bony door at the back of its mouth also closes. This is called theglottis. A closed glottis allows the alligator to swim underwater withoutdrowning. An alligator can stay underwater up to two hours at a time if it doesnot expend too much energy.
For especially fast swimming, the alligator tucksits legs up close to the sides of its body and moves its tail back and forth topropel itself forward (Daly 17). Reproducing is the only reason it has comeoff the endangered list that's why it is so important to the alligators. As bigand ferocious as the female may look, she is a gentle mother. A motheralligator makes a nest on shore, where she lays her eggs. Then she guards hereggs until they're ready to hatch. At the point the babies start to makenoises, and their mother hears her little one's peeps as they break out of theeggs (Means 78).
A mother alligator does not sit on top of her nest duringincubation. This would crush the eggs. Instead, she stays nearby to guard thenest from predators such as raccoons, opossums, skunks, and wild pigs. The eggsbegin to hatch after 60 to 65 days of incubation. Alligator hatchlings have ahard bump on the end of their snouts called an egg tooth. They use this tobreak out of their shells.
Hatchlings call out to their mother after crackingthrough their shells. She uncovers the nest using her front feet and snout (30).She gently carries them in her mouth to the water nearby. Their mother protectsthem from predators, which include raccoons, bobcats, birds, and even otheralligators (Daly 76).
Domination is a good thing and we canhave bigger males that reproduce more so they do go endangered again. Theaverage life span of a wild alligator is between 30 and 35 years. When incaptivity, an alligator can live for up to 50 years. Adult alligators usuallylead mostly solitary lives. They spend very little time with other alligatorsoutside of mating season. Larger alligators are much more territorial thansmaller ones are.
While smaller gators are still not very social, they are morelikely to live closer to one another. Scientists have used radio transmittersto track the movements of alligators. This has helped us learn more about wherethese animals live and how far they travel. The research shows that malealligators have larger home ranges than females. An adult male's range mightcover more than 1,000 acres during mating season.
Females do not move around asmuch because they are busy building nest and protecting their young (Daly 22).Alligatorscan go on land and water its good for hunting and running from predators. Onland, the alligator typically moves at a much slower pace than it does in thewater. But if it finds something to eat or needs to escape a dangeroussituation, the alligator can move rather quickly in short bursts. The alligators'legs are very short.
This means that its body hangs low to the ground when itwalks or runs on land. When the alligator needs to move quickly, it uses whatis called a high walk. When high walking, the alligator keeps its feet almostdirectly underneath its body. This allows the alligator to raise its heavy tailoff the ground. Though the very tip still touches the ground, most of thetail's weight is held up which prevents it from dragging.
On land, the tail canbe used as a weapon if the alligator feels at risk. It is strong enough tobreak human bones in half (Daly 18).Afterthey are done with their gator holes other animals can stay in their old gatorholes that's why it's good for the environment. Alligators must prepare aheadof time to survive the winter. To stay warm in the chilly weather, an alligatoruses its snout and tail to burrow a tunnel into the earth along the edge of awaterway. These tunnels are known as gator holes.
Gator holes are filled withwater but have a pocket of air at the top. They can be as long as 65 feet. Aswinter begins to set in, alligators become less active. The alligator goes intoits gator hole and enters a dormant state. A dormant alligator's body systemsslow down and use very little energy. Because it is not active, the alligatordoes not need to eat.
Even when the water in its gator hole freezes solid, thealligator can survive if its nostrils are above the surface of the ice (Daly 21).Wateris an important role in an alligator's life so they can survive against predatorsand for transportation. Alligators are carnivores. They feed on everything fromfish, birds, and frogs to large mammals. The larger the alligator, the largerthe prey it will attack. Alligators feed mainly at night.
They are not typicalpredators. They do not move around to hunt for food. Instead, they patientlywait for prey to come near. An alligator launches a surprise attack once anunlucky animal is close enough.
Smaller prey is captured and swallowed whole.Larger prey puts up more of a struggle. In such cases, the alligator grabs itsvictim and drags it underwater to drown it. When an animal is too big toswallow whole, the alligator sometimes performs a move called a death roll. Itspins its body around while gripping the prey in its teeth. This allows it totwist off chunks of meat.
Other times, an alligator will hide the animal's bodyand come back after it has begun to rot. The rotting flesh is easier to breakapart and swallow (Daly 14). A way to describe an alligator is byits appearance, behavior, and habitat. Alligators are really cool by howdramatically their population went up. Alligators are really cool because oftheir tails and their really strong scales.
