In 1807 Georges Cuvier created the genus Alligator the American alligator shares this genus with the Chinese alligator. The American alligator was first classified by French zoologist François Marie Daudin as Crocodilus mississipiensis in 1801. The species is the official state reptile of three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Alligators are now harvested for their skins and meat. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from the list in 1987. Historically, hunting had decimated their population, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The American alligator is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Young are born with yellow bands around their bodies and are protected by their mother for up to one year. Eggs are laid in a nest of vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud in a sheltered spot in or near the water. Male alligators use infrasound to attract females. Throughout the year, but particularly during the breeding season, alligators bellow to declare territory and locate suitable mates. They play an important role as ecosystem engineers in wetland ecosystems through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other organisms. ContentsĪlligators are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. It is distinguished from the sympatric American crocodile by its broader snout, with overlapping jaws and darker coloration, and is less tolerant of saltwater but more tolerant of cooler climates than the American crocodile, which is found only in tropical climates. The American alligator inhabits freshwater wetlands, such as marshes and cypress swamps from Texas to North Carolina. Females are smaller, measuring around 3 m (9.8 ft). Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.6 m (11 to 15 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 453 kg (1,000 lb). It is one of two living species in the genus Alligator within the family Alligatoridae it is larger than the other extant alligator species, the Chinese alligator. The kayakers, who were lost at the time, were eventually rescued by helicopter crew.The American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile endemic to the southeastern United States. We flipped out,' one of the kayakers Allison Haviland told a 911 dispatcher. 'We were kayaking and a gator almost flipped us over. In February, an alligator nearly flipped over a kayak carrying two people on the Econlockhatchee River in Florida, ClickOrlando reported. Joyce managed to clamber back into the boat and began paddling away quickly as the alligator hovered under his boat. The alligator hit the kayak so hard, I lost my balance and started to roll.' 'The video doesn't show how hard the impact was. 'I was just about to turn around when it came towards me,' Joyce, told NBC News at the time. In July, an alligator flipped over the boat of a North Carolina man, Pete Joyce, while he was kayaking on the Waccamaw River-an incident that was captured on his bodycam. Cases involving kayakers are rare, but not unheard of. Females grow to around eight feet.Īlligators generally tend to avoid attacking humans. Male American alligators grow to an average of around 11 feet in length, although larger specimens have been reported. When firefighters arrived, they threw a rope into the lake and pulled the women to safety.Īmerican alligators are found in coastal wetlands throughout the southeastern U.S., with their range stretching from central Texas to North Carolina, according to the National Wildlife Federation.įirefighters in Daphne said they had never seen the alligator in question before in Forest Lake, estimating that it measured around 14 foot in length. It was crazy,' Hartley told WKRG.Įventually, a woman who lived nearby noticed what was happening and called emergency services. Somebody tell me kids and my husband that I love them. 'I kept thinking I was going to die out there. Terrifying Video Shows Fisherman Accidentally Reel in Enormous Crocodile.Woman Rescued From Python's 'Vice-Like' Grip After Finding Snake in Garage.Bear With Head and Paws Cut Off Found in California May Have Been Tortured.

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