Broadly rounded snout distinguishes it from crocodiles. Fourth
tooth on each side of lower jaw is hidden when mouth is closed.
Young are black with yellowish cross-bars. Mature alligators are
coal black when wet, dark gray when dry. Males are 11 to 12 feet
long and weigh 450-550 pounds. Females are no longer than 9 feet
and weigh about 160 pounds. Record length is 20 feet.
GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT: North Carolina to Florida Keys
and west to central Texas. Lacking the salt-removing glands
found in crocodiles they live in fresh water swamps and
waterways only. When given protection, alligator populations
rebound and soon reoccupy areas where they have long been
absent. Large stomach. Carnivorous. Eats fish, snakes, frogs,
turtles, birds, and mammals such as muskrats, deer and cows. Big
animals are dragged underwater and drowned and then torn to
pieces. They are very efficient metabolically; even a big
alligator can get by on about 50 pounds of food a year. Eats
little or nothing from early October to late