Alligators
Say you were walking down a path in Florida next to a creek and you saw a
floating log that looked a lot like an alligator… and then you realized that it
was an alligator! After your heart stopped beating…Would you hop into the
water and swim around it? Or might you try to carve it with a Swiss army
knife? If you know anything about alligators, you should run away and call the
local animal authorities. If you chose any of the first three, you definitely
want to read my report about alligators…even if you chose the last one, the
report is worth reading it’s interesting! So come along!
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
An alligator is a reptile, a cold blooded air-breathing vertebrate that
lays eggs and has skin covered with scales or bony plates. An alligator looks
like and oversized lizard with scales to camouflage itself (as a floating log),
sharp teeth for ripping food, and very powerful tail to defend itself and try
to get food. An average alligator weighs about 880 pounds and it grows to
about 6 to 7 feet long. The alligator has many different colors on its scales
or skin including: green, gray, dark gray, light gray, dark green, and
sometimes brown. Male alligators look like female alligators. An alligator
camouflages itself by sinking into the water with only its nose and eyes
sticking out at the surface to get closer to its prey or hide from enemies.
It can also swim fast to get away from them.
ENEMIES
Alligators don’t have a lot of enemies besides humans, but baby alligators do.
They are eaten by predatory fish, birds and mammals, and at all stages of
growth they are attacked and eaten by even bigger alligators. An alligator
can camouflage itself using its skin to blend it with its surroundings and it
can disguised itself as a floating log to stay hidden from danger or to get
closer to its prey. Alligators have sharp teeth to scare away predators
(they grow back quickly) a long powerful tail to whip things including other
alligators.
HABITAT
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A typical alligator habitat is a warm wetland, such as a swamp. All
available aquatic habitats including swamps, rivers, lakes, tidal zones, and
ponds can be home for an alligator. They live in swampy homes that are
mushy, mucky, and wet. Alligators live in areas with a subtropical climate. A
subtropical climate generally has hot, humid summers with a lot of rain. The
winters are usually mild. Do you think that alligators migrate? Well hate to
disappoint you, but they don’t.
FOOD
Alligators have some build-in body adaptations that remarkably help
them to get their food when wanted or needed. First, their color
camouflages in with their surroundings. Second, their small eyes, ears and
nostrils are raised on their heads so they can stick out of the water when
the rest of their body is hidden under water. Finally, they are very clever
about getting their food and using their adaptations wisely. What they do is
ambush their prey at the water’s edge. When they seize a victim, they drag
it into the water, stun it with a blow from their tail and then drown it.
Sometimes they will eat it right away and other times they let it rot at the
bottom the water, eating it slowly as they need it.
Baby Alligators mostly eat insects, mollusks, fresh water shrimp, frogs
snakes, fish, muskrats and small mammals. Adults on the other hand will eat
any of the above mentioned and just about anything else, including small
pebbles to help in digesting their food. Alligators don’t even take the time
to chew their food. They swallow it whole!
Endangered
The alligator’s current population is 800,000 to 1,000,000. It’ is being
hunted for its skin and to be used as food, but the main reason is for its
skin. Humans like to make shoes, bags, belts and clothes out of alligator
skin. Because of this, its skin is very valuable. Also, it’s meat is tasty and
can be used for delicious plates. Therefore, the main reason that it is
endangered is because it is so heavily hunted by humans. On top of that, its
habitat is also being destroyed by human building. This leaves the poor
animal nowhere to live.
Some people are trying to help. Conservation organizations are raising public
awareness of endangered alligators. Alligator farms and ranches are
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contributing to the harvesting of a greater and more healthy alligator
population.
Babies
Alligators mate in late April to early June. The mother lays around 40
eggs in a heap of dirt and vegetation that is around two feet tall. The eggs
remain safe and incubated underneath. When the eggs hatch, the mother
protects her young by guarding the nest. Also, they young alligator has
built-in instincts to hide a lot. It must do this because it has no other
protection and it has a lot of predators. The alligator family stays together
while they babies are young. The mother teaches them and the babies are
able to catch their own food as soon as they hatch. The alligator stays with
its parents for one to two years. When they mate, they are six years old
and then they leave their parents and are now adults.
So What?
So what did you thing about my slide show? Did you thing it was
interesting or dull? I sure learned a lot about alligators and I hope you did
too. So as you can see, it is important to protect their habitats and think
about it before you buy a product made of real alligators skin or meat.
RESOURCES
www.google.com/images/alligators
1000 Things You Should Know About Wild Animals
Eyewitness Juniors Alligators and Other Reptiles
Zoobooks Alligators and Crocodiles
© 2000-2006 EdTech Leaders Online (http://www.edtechleaders.org), EDC, Inc. All rights reserved.