Meet the Gator

Demo Preparations
Gather all materials needed including but not limited to stuffed gator, mounted
animals, literature and anything else you may need.
Read over information about the animal.
Please use caution when getting the gator from his/her enclosure. t is best to
use one hand around the nec! "not too tight# and the other near the bac! legs and
tail. $llow visitors to use a two finger touch of the bac!, stomach, or tail but to
tough no where close to the head or mouth. Remind visitors to wash hands after
touching the gator.
$lligator %acts
$n alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family $lligatoridae.
&here are two e'tant alligator species( the $merican alligator "Alligator
mississippiensis# and the )hinese alligator "Alligator sinensis#.
$lligators have a variety of successful adaptations to their ecological niche that
have allowed these reptiles to remain almost unchanged since the )retaceous.
&he alligator is notorious for its bone*crushing bites. n addition, the alligator has
been described as a +living fossil+, having been e'tant for ,-- million years,
beginning in the .eso/oic 0ra.
$ large adult $merican alligator1s weight and length is 2-- pounds and 34 feet
but can grow to 35.6 feet long and weigh over 3,--- pounds.
&he largest specimen ever recorded was found in 7ouisiana and measured 38 feet
, inches.
$lligators have an average of 96 teeth.
$merican alligators are found in the southeast :nited ;tates( all of %lorida and
7ouisiana, the southern parts of Georgia, $labama and .ississippi, coastal ;outh
and <orth )arolina, 0astern &e'as, the southeast corner of =!lahoma and the
southern tip of $r!ansas.
$merican alligators live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes,
wetlands, rivers, la!es, and swamps, as well as brac!ish environments.

;outhern
%lorida is the only place where both alligators and crocodiles live side by side.
$lthough alligators have a heavy body and a slow metabolism, they are capable of
short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. $lligators1 main prey are
smaller animals that they can !ill and eat with a single bite. $lligators may !ill
larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it into the water to drown.
$lligators consume food that can not be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot, or
by biting and then spinning or convulsing wildly until bite*si/e chun!s are torn
off. &his is referred to as a +death roll.+
.ost of the muscle in an alligator1s >aw evolved to bite and grip prey. &he
muscles that close the >aws are e'ceptionally powerful, but the muscles for
opening their >aws are comparatively wea!. $s a result, an adult human can hold
an alligator1s >aws shut barehanded. t is common today to use several wraps of
duct tape to prevent an adult alligator from opening its >aws when handled or
transported.
?hen young, alligators eat fish, insects, snails, crustaceans, and worms. $s they
mature, progressively larger prey is ta!en, including larger fish such as gar,
turtles, various mammals, birds, deer and other reptiles. &heir stomachs also often
contain gi//ard stones. $lligators can ta!e ra/orbac!s and deer and are well
!nown to !ill and eat smaller alligators. 7arger alligators are !nown to ambush
dogs, %lorida panther and blac! bears, ma!ing it the ape' predator throughout its
distribution. $s humans encroach onto their habitat, attac!s are few but not
un!nown. $lligators, unli!e the large crocodiles, do not immediately regard a
human upon encounter as prey, but may still attac! in self*defense if provo!ed.