In addition, the state ranks second for the amount of land that is covered by wetlands, which makes it a wetland hotspot. [2] Later English spellings of the name included allagarta and alagarto. Occurrences are summarized in Table 1, alphabetically by state, with years of earliest and most recent observations, and the tally and names of drainages where the species was observed. American alligators can be distinguished from Crocodylus acutus, the American crocodile, and Caiman crocodilus, common caiman, by the presence of a broad, rounded snout, without conspicuous teeth protruding while . In this state, there are two counties that the gators seem to favor as a habitat. Bibliographic Addendum IV and Index, Bibliographic Addenda II-IV, 1979-1991. The Best Childrens Books About Alligators: Reviewed and Ranked, alligator-infested state in the US in Florida, Texas comes in third for the total population, See a Gator Bite an Electric Eel With 860 Volts, See Dominator The Largest Crocodile In The World, And As Big As A Rhino, This Buffalo Calf Puts a Male Lion in Their Place. Related Article: Are There Alligators in Virginia? [58], Alligators are raised commercially for their meat and their skin, which when tanned is used for the manufacture of luggage, handbags, shoes, belts, and other leather items. Lazell, J. D., Jr. 1989. The states late entry into legal hunting of alligators is probably one of the main reasons the alligator population grew to the level it has now reached. 131 pp. There have been more sightings like this both by fishermen in the water bodies in and around Alabama and on land. The states that have alligators are Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. They also create peat and holes beneficial to other species. In the state, one can find gators in many swamps, rivers, and lakes. Louisiana has the largest American alligator population of any U.S. state. 270 pp. Search for alligator harvest information using the CITES tag number or permit holder name. (FWC) is responsible for enforcing the states Alligator Protection Act, which prohibits the possession, sale, transportation, or importation of any gator that is capable of inflicting serious injury or death on a human being. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Have some feedback for us? 240 pp. The animal's dark skin is armored with small, bony scales called scutes. Website Accessibility Statement Florida is home to the largest number of alligator species in the United States. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. The majority of American alligators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. Perhaps they had been part of a public animal display. 23 pp., Am-T, App-102, Cor-4. Its front feet have 5 toes, while rear feet have 4 toes that are webbed. Critical to the alligator's ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. They are native to China, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. In addition to these, scientists believe alligators have been migrating into the region on their own as well. I am the founder and owner of Fauna Facts. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. [28] Alligators have also been observed to rise up and balance on their hind legs and semi-step forward as part of a forward or upward lunge. Louisiana and Florida have the largest alligator populationsthere are more than one million wild alligators in each state. Unexpected effects of predators upon their prey: The case of the American alligator. Alligators typically have dark gray or black skin with white or yellow markings, while crocodiles are usually tan in color with darker stripes and spots. The Everglades. Alligators consume food that cannot be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot or by biting and then performing a "death roll", spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-sized chunks are torn off. 210 pp. Crocodiles are the largest of all reptiles. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. She will provide protection to the young for about a year if they remain in the area. It is believed this portion of the stomach serves a similar function as it does in the gizzard of some species of birds, to aid in digestion. Alligators move on land by two forms of locomotion referred to as "sprawl" and "high walk". [50][48] The alligator's metabolism will also increase after a meal by up to four times its basal metabolic rate. They were removed from "total protection" status in 1987. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. Alligators that go long enough without a meal during brumation will begin a process called autophagy, where the animal begins to consume its fat reserves to maintain its body weight until it can acquire a sufficient meal. Discover how old these crocodilian reptiles can get. [52], Alligators also have complex microbiomes that are not fully understood yet, but can be attributed to both benefits and costs to the animal. LDWF manages the American alligator as a commercial, renewable natural resource. Crocodilians of Florida and the Tropical Americas. The type of food eaten by alligators depends upon their age and size. Alabama isnt well-known for its gators, but they have a total population of around 70,000 individuals! The baby alligator's egg tooth helps it get out of its egg during hatching time. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. In Alabama, estimates put the population at about ten times more. Smith, H. M., and R. B. Smith. Abdulmumin is a pharmacist and a top-rated content writer who can pretty much write on anything that can be researched on the internet. Wildlife of the Florida Keys: A Natural History. Gainesville, Florida. Marine Resources, State . Meshaka, W. E., Jr., W. F. Loftus, and T. Steiner. The states with alligators are Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Their body alone ranges from 6 - 14 feet long. (TDEC) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) are working together to manage the alligator population in the state to ensure that it is managed in a safe and responsible manner. The massive swampland and warm climate mean that Louisiana is the perfect home for these scaly reptiles. One major factor that has allowed the population of Alligators in Alabama and the other US States is the tightened enforcement of anti-poaching laws in these places. Still, some do! The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information. 2000. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, there are between 400,000-500,000 alligators in Texas. The largest populations occurred in the broad marl prairies to the east and west of the southern ridge and slough and to the mangrove estuaries inhabited by crocodiles. The two kinds of white alligators are albino and leucistic. Crocodiles and Alligators. As such, some of these gators are removed. 352 pp. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular (23):i-vi, 1-113. [13] One of the oldest recorded alligator lives was that of Saturn, an American alligator who was hatched in 1936 in Mississippi and spent nearly a decade in Germany before spending the majority of its life at the Moscow Zoo, where it died at the age of 83 or 84 on 22 May 2020. The table contains hyperlinks to collections tables of specimens based on the states, years, and drainages selected. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 250 pp. Data released in the aftermath of the ESA's passage provided more confirmation. It explains why you may spot them in the streets and other areas where they typically wouldnt roam. 191 pp. Indigenous populations may have simply been augmented by intentional introductions (Conant, 1977). Oklahoma is home to between 100-200 individuals, but they constitute a stable population. A Field Guide to Reptiles and the Law. But the government can also reimpose tighter controls without going through a lengthy reclassification process. Pp. The American alligator was abundant in the pre-drainage Everglades in south Florida. There's a whole world to learn about and Colby is content to spend his life learning as much as he can about it! Benefits include better total health and stronger immune system. [47] Once an alligator's meal has been processed it will move on to the second portion of the stomach which is highly acidic. Read about Georgias Most Alligator Infested Lake. Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. In the United States, only 10 states out of 50 have a native alligator population. Alligators found north of this line were most likely brought there by humans. These are gators that continually go to areas that have a human population. Social behavior. [42][43] In the past, immediately following the outlawing of alligator hunting, populations rebounded quickly due to the suppressed number of adults preying upon juveniles, increasing survival among the young alligators. Northeast Gulf Science 9: 18. The gastroliths work to grind up the meal as alligators will take large bites or swallow smaller prey whole. The surveys showed how alligators recovered from near-extinction during the mid-20th century, then remained largely stable after the late 1980s. Although no valid records exist about its date of birth, as of 2012, it was in its 80s and possibly the oldest alligator living in captivity. 1998. If you ever spot one, you should call the authorities to have it removed instead of trying to get rid of it yourself. 486 pp. Lets rank these 10 states to see who has the most! Females hatched from eggs incubated at 30C (86F) weigh significantly more than males hatched from eggs incubated at 34C (93F). Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. However, it wasnt until recently that these recommendations became actively implemented. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. In addition, alligators have been introduced to several locations outside of their natural range, including parts of North America, Hawaii, Iran, Japan, the Cayman Islands, and even France. There are no crocodiles in the state. 1979. Back in the 1970s, the American alligator was placed on the endangered species list. Palmer and Braswell (1995) provide little detail of nonindigenous A. mississippiensis in North Carolina, but suggest some individuals are "thriving." The son of a woman killed by an alligator in Sun City has filed a wrongful . [35][36] Their stomachs also often contain gizzard stones. [45], The alligator has a similar digestive system to that of the crocodile, with minor differences in morphology and enzyme activity. American alligators can be found in the coastal wetlands of the U.S. Southeast, as far north as North Carolina and as far west as eastern Texas. Alligators dont typically attack humans (especially on land). One of the areas where one can find these gators are in the Ace Basin. 2008. [20] The majority of American alligators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. An average adult American alligator's weight and length is 360kg (790lb) and 4m (13ft), but they sometimes grow to 4.4m (14ft) long and weigh over 450kg (990lb). The only places that gators live in Oklahoma are the Red and Little Rivers, primarily in around Choctaw, Bryan, McCurtain, and Love counties. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville. Grenard, S. 1991. While they can brumate (a reptile version of hibernation) during cold months, alligators generally stick to areas with water that doesnt freeze over for too much of the year. These are Hancock and Rankin. Alligators are naturally excellent at reproducing their population. Oklahoma (100-200) There is a tiny population of alligators that live in certain southern regions of the state. References to specimens that were not obtained through sighting reports and personal communications are found through the hyperlink in the Table 1 caption or through the individual specimens linked in the collections tables. The sprawl is a forward movement with the belly making contact with the ground and is used to transition to "high walk" or to slither over wet substrate into water. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest and is fixed within seven to 21 days of the start of incubation. All A. mississippiensis from Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, and California were collected with no further evidence of established populations (Bury and Luckenbach, 1978; Green and Pauley, 1987; Mitchell, 1994; Minton, 2001). In 1974, Louisiana estimated the alligator's total population at 734,384 and increasing over most of its range. [53] There is also fluctuation in the level of bacterial taxa populations in the alligator's microbial community between seasons which helps the alligator cope with different rates of feeding and activity. Alligator mississippiensis is an aquatic, omnicarnivorous reptile capable of living in many types of waterways, both natural and man-made, and feeding upon almost any fauna it can catch (McIlhenny, 1935; Neill, 1971; Mount, 1975; Dundee and Rossman, 1989; Ashton and Ashton, 1991). The increased sightings may be as a result of their seasonal activities. Louisiana has the largest alligator population. The A. mississippiensis collected from Mesa County, Colorado, escaped from a roadside zoo (Livo et al., 1998), while the one collected from the Colorado River in California had been released (intentionally?) This may encourage people to approach alligators and their nests, which can provoke the animals into attacking. A few decades down the line, the boom in their population in the 10 US states they range is starting to astound biologists so much that many people are beginning to wonder why alligator populations are exploding across Alabama and other states. Some gators managed to inch inward to the north. We highly recommend reviewing metadata files prior to interpreting these data. Although gators live in these areas, some states have few geographical locations where one can find alligators. Identification and Distribution. [37][27] As humans encroach into their habitat, attacks are few but not unknown. These states are home to the majority of the nation's alligators, making them ideal spots for observing these reptiles in the wild. Through LDWF's extensive research and wise management that includes sustainable wild harvest and alligator farming, Louisiana's wild alligator population has increased from less than 100,000 to more than 2 million in the past 50 years. While there are rules of thumb for distinguishing alligators from crocodiles, all of them admit exceptions. Smith, H. M., and R. B. Smith. Impacts of the coypu removal program on the diet of American alligators (. Indeed, far more Chinese alligators live in zoos around the world than can be found in the wild. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana. Stevenson, H. S. 1976. The data represented on this site vary in accuracy, scale, completeness, extent of coverage and origin. Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. Crocodiles. Second Revised Edition. The mating season is in late spring. States with nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations. Third Edition, Expanded. The only known alligator that is bigger is the Chinese alligator.Furthermore, these alligators are carnivores and eat birds, amphibians, fish, reptiles . Are There Alligators in the Mississippi River? 184 pp. Scientific and common names for the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico in English and Spanish. Amphibians and reptiles of southern Florida. 1989. 1976. .mw-parser-output table.clade{border-spacing:0;margin:0;font-size:100%;line-height:100%;border-collapse:separate;width:auto}.mw-parser-output table.clade table.clade{width:100%;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label{min-width:0.2em;width:0.1em;padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:bottom;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;border-bottom:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label::before,.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel::before{content:"\2060 "}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width{overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.first{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel{padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:top;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.last{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar{vertical-align:middle;text-align:left;padding:0 0.5em;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar.reverse{text-align:right;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf{border:0;padding:0;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leafR{border:0;padding:0;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf.reverse{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkA{background-color:yellow}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkB{background-color:green}, Alligator mississippiensis American alligator. In: G. J. W. Webb, S. C. Manolis, and P. J. Whitehead (editors). Synopsis of the Herpetofauna of Mexico. They may look a bit like logs in the water. The American species is found in all of Florida and Louisiana, the coast of North and South Carolina, southern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The American alligator is endemic to the United States. Site Map, Plant & Animal Classification Guide (Biological Taxonomy), more than one million alligators in Louisiana, Red Dragonfly Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism (9 Omens), Dead Possum Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism (9 Omens), Green Grasshopper Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism (8 Omens).