American Alligators essays

American Alligators essays The American Alligator is one of the largest reptiles in the world weighing from 450 to 500 pounds. The length of an adult varies from 13 to 18 feet. The tail is about half of the length. The alligator and the crocodile are very similar in appearance but there is a difference. The crocodile has a different jaw structure and habitat. The American alligator has a stockier build and broader head and facial features. They have large scales, prominent eyes and nostrils and are almost black in color. The average lifespan is fifty years. Babies feed on insects, shrimp. Tadpoles, frogs, and fish, while adults eat turtles, fish, raccoons, birds and dead animals. They live in shallow lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes, and rivers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and the Carolinas (southeastern U.S.). The breeding season for American alligators is between April and May. The female will lay 25 to 60 eggs. After the laying, the female covers the eggs with a layer of vegetation. The sun helps them grow and they hatch within 9 weeks. In Florida, raccoons are a large egg predator. The alligators are ready to hatch in mid-August through mid-September. Eighty percent of the young become victims of birds, raccoons, bobcats, otters, snakes, and large bass and even other alligators within the first two years of their lives. ...