In water, a typical dive of alligators can last from 10 to 20 minutes, easily. Normally, it can dive for more than 10 minutes. Based on statistics in the United States, injuries caused by venom, mainly from encounters with insects, account for an average of over 50 casualties annually, in contrast to an average of one casualty annually caused by alligators. If you ever encounter an alligator in the wild, it’s best to back away slowly and remember that it’s extremely rare for wild alligators to chase people. Image from Pxfuel Alligators normally fear humans.Īlligators fear humans for obvious reasons, and will normally retreat when approached. During spring, alligators are busier and more visible. Alligators are very active during springtime as the weather warms, and their mating season starts. Female alligators lay an average of 30 to 45 eggs which hatch in late summer or early fall. The mating season of the alligator occurs from May to June. Raccoons and muskrats are amongst its favorites for mammals and herons, storks, egrets, and waterfowl for the birds. Meanwhile, grown-up or adult alligators may eat snakes, turtles, fish, small mammals, and birds. Young alligators mainly eat bugs, tiny fish, amphibious animals, and other small creatures. They are opportunistic feeders.Īlligators are opportunistic feeders and their diets include different species that are abundant and easily available. You can also find alligators in the south of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, the eastern part of Texas, the tip of Arkansas in the south, and the southeast corner of Oklahoma. Alligators are somewhat “ineffective” on land and they typically thrive in water. In the United States, most of the alligators live in Florida and Louisiana, where they stay in lakes, swamps, rivers, ponds, bayous, and marshes. Read also: 40 Interesting Pygmy Goat Facts About Your Next Exotic Pet Alligators live in lakes, swamps, rivers, ponds, bayous, and marshes. Thus, zookeepers place it right in front of his jaw. Muja’s diet consists of skinned rats, rabbits, birds, beef, and horse meat. However, his old age makes it a struggle for him to run for his food. Muja became a hit on social media as the world’s oldest alligator in captivity. This reptile survived WWII, and also the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.

This elderly American alligator that is currently in Serbia’s Belgrade Zoo, is 85 years old. Muja is the oldest alligator on the planet. Moreover, they can replace their lost teeth naturally and may regenerate a lost tooth up to 50 times. Alligators have no teeth for chewing or pulverizing food, thus they devour their food entirely. Image from Pixabay They have 80 conical-shaped teeth.Īn adult alligator has 80 conical-shaped teeth. If we compare it to tigers and lions, it would roughly range between 750 to 1,000 PSI, while the bite force of humans usually averages around 70 PSI. The strongest bite force of alligators can reach up to 2,900 PSI, while crocodiles have the strongest bite pressure measuring 3,700 PSI. Alligators have a lifespan of more than 50 years in the care of humans, but can only live for more than 30 years in their natural habitat.Īlligators can bite more than 50 times harder than humans.These colors help conceal them amongst tall grasses in swampy areas. The young ones, on the other hand, have vivid yellow or creamy stripes which strongly go against their dark skin.Adults can have different colors such as brown, olive, and grayish-black, depending on where they live.The Chinese alligator rarely exceeds 7 ft or 2.1 meters in length and weighs less than 45 kg or 100 lbs.

Other names of Chinese alligators are Yangtze alligator, China alligator, and the muddy dragon.

Male alligators are bigger compared to their female counterparts.

Chinese alligators normally grow to around 5 ft or 1.5 meters.

American alligators can stretch up to 12 ft and have a weight of as much as 450 kg.

There are still two surviving breeds of alligators: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator.Part of the crocodilian class, the alligator comes from the Alligator subfamily, which descends from the Alligatoridae lineage.

Are alligators nocturnal