American Alligator: The Mississippi Lizard
There are two known species of alligators in the world
, one of which is the American alligator. From the name itself, alligator which came from the Spanish word el lagarto meaning "the lizard" and mississippiensis meaning it belongs to Mississippi river, American alligators are natives in the Southeastern United States. They are also much bigger than the other type which is the Chinese alligator.American alligators have well-rounded bodies, thick limbs and extremely powerful tails. As they are aquatic creatures, their tails which are about half-length of their total size. Though they are bigger than the ones found in China, American alligators can only grow in an approximate size of 4-4.5 m for the males, while below 3 meters for the females. Their snout is broad though captive breeds tend to have broader. The edge of upper jaw overlaps the teeth in the lower jaw which is uncommon to the crocodiles. When still young, they have similar appearance with the adults except for the yellow bands in a black background. These yellow bands then slowly diminish as they grow. More over for their coloration, they have creamy white necks and bellies. Their eyes' color is generally green just like the other crocodilians.
As for their natural habitats, they are commonly found in freshwater marshes, swamps and rivers. In some other cases also, they are being seen in mangrove swamps though they are lacking of buccal salt-secreting glands. They are also known to create burrows and place for hibernation every cold season. Within this hibernation period, the American alligators will stop eating for a few weeks. If they're living near human habitation, then seeing them crossing the streets is normal.
Talking about their food, the juveniles eat any invertebrates as well as fishes and frogs. As they grow, they require large number of food intake. They do eat anything found in the range of their living. Popular preys are birds, fishes, turtles, reptiles as well as small alligators. They are known to be opportunistic predator so they will attack prey at any possible availability or when they're hungry. They may also capable of attacking humans but records shows that there are minimal reports about this matter. They are said to keep distance from humans when feel threatened. As for their breeding which usually starts every spring, they give aural and visual communication to their mates that they are ready. Additional way of saying that they're ready to mate is having a complex body posture. When the females reach 1.8 meters in length, they are considered to be sexually ready.
There are still lots of American alligators found in the wild. The local government really do their duty in helping to conserve them. Though they are utmost extinct during the 20th century, the applied laws for their conservation do have great effects.
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