by Frances Stanford

Created on: September 24, 2008   Last Updated: November 06, 2008

Although they are ferocious creatures, humans have always been fascinated with alligators. One of the interesting facts about these creatures is that they are considered to be a prime example of a reptilian fossil dating back about 200 million years. It is one species that has not evolved and remains basically in the same state today as it was back then. There are two different species of alligators on the Earth the American alligator and the Chinese alligator.

THE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR

The body of this alligator is large and slightly rounded. An alligator has thick limbs and a powerful tail. The head is broad and the body is either black, brown or olive with a creamy white underbelly. Alligators that live in waters filled with algae appear to be green because of the color of the water and the tannic acid that drips from the overhanging trees. Male alligators range from 13 to 15 feet in length, but females are slightly shorter at about 9 or 10 feet. Male alligators can grow to be quite large, sometimes weighing as much as 1000 pounds. The females are much smaller and on average weigh only about 75 pounds.

The tail is the main aid in propulsion through the water and makes up the greater proportion of the creature's length. It is often used as a weapon when the animal senses a threat or is attacked. Although alligators can move quite quickly through water, they are slow moving and clumsy when on land. They do have four limbs. The front limbs have five claws each and the rear limbs have four claws.

The natural habitat of alligators is wetlands, mainly in the southeastern area of the US and westward to Texas. The Florida Everglades and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the areas where they live in abundance. They are able to withstand cold temperatures and do perform a favour in nature by controlling the spread of rodents in wetland areas.

Alligators are carnivores. They eat birds, turtles, snakes and other amphibians. They also eat worms and small fish. As adults they are very dangerous and have been known to attack large animals and humans. They breed in spring and although the alligator does not have any vocal cords, they do bellow loudly when they are in heat. The female builds a nest and lays between 20 and 50 white eggs, about the size of goose eggs. She covers the eggs with vegetation and remains close by for the duration of the incubation period which is about 65 days.

THE CHINESE ALLIGATOR

The Chinese alligator looks much like the American alligator but is much smaller. The average size is about 5 feet, although there have been some that reached a length of 7 feet. There is armour on the belly, which gives it additional protection from its enemies. They live mostly around a few ponds in the area of the Lower Yangtze mainly because their natural habitat has been transformed into farmland. They have also been killed off by eating rats that have been poisoned as part of rodent control in these areas. They are listed as an endangered species and most of these alligators now live in captivity,

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