The winners of the 2017 University of HawaiÊ»i Presidentâs Green Initiative Awards were honored in a ceremony on March 16 at UH West Oâahu as part of the fifth annual HawaiÊ»i Sustainability in Higher Education Summit.
Rain Forest Predators. The black caiman of the Amazon rainforest is often mistaken for an alligator, which it closely resembles. However, true alligators only live in two places in the world, and neither is a rainforest environment: the Southeastern US and the Yangtze River in China. The black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) is the largest of the six caiman species, reaching a length of almost 17 feet (5 meters).
That is how people can tell the alligator and the crocodile apart. The alligator can grow to be eight to nine feet long, if female and 11-12 feet if male. In the wild alligators can live up to 30-35 years, but if in captivity can live up to 80 years old. Habitat Requirements The American alligator lives in Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. It lives in salt-free and pollution-free water. The alligator eats mostly fish and small animals. It will eat large things such as deer or house pets, if they come to the water. The American alligator is territorial. It needs its own space, because it requires a lot of food. It always goes back to its area after mating. That is about the alligator's habitat. Adaptations The American alligator has a camoflouge color, a greenish brown color, to blend in with the water in which it lives. It also uses 2,000 to 3,000 teeth over its life time to catch its prey. It has as many as 80 teeth in its jaw at one time. Reasons for Endangerment The American alligator is not endangered, because it is legally protected. The alligator is protected from being killed for skins to make shoes, purses, and food. The American alligaters has only one predator, humans. Then US legislatures made a law saying that people can't kill alligators.