![]() ![]() Alligators can be vicious fighters during mating season. ![]() For two months, male alligators fight to see who gets to court the female or "sow" alligators. A giant male or "bull" alligator begins bellowing in the spring to attract females and warn other suitors to stay away. ReproductionĪlligators mate in April and May, beginning a life cycle that evolved from prehistoric times. Males rarely exceed 13 feet in length and large males can weigh well over 500 pounds.Īlligators in the wild can live up to 70 years some in captivity may live even longer. Females rarely exceed 9 feet in length and large females can weigh more than 200 pounds. Male alligators grow faster and larger than females. Growth rates slow as alligators get older. Their growth rates depend on several factors including their habitat, sex, size, and age. Size, growth rates, and lifespanĪlligators are about 8 to 9 inches in length when they hatch from eggs. As a result, they may enter underground holes and remain dormant until warmer conditions return. Because alligators are cold-blooded, in cooler portions of their range their metabolism may slow down during the cool winter months to the point that they can no longer catch or digest food efficiently. This is why alligators are often seen regulating their body temperature by basking in the sun. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals, which means that their body temperature is regulated by the temperature of the environment around them. Nesting females, hatchlings, and small juveniles are commonly found in shallow marsh habitats with thick emergent vegetation. Mature males and non-breeding females tend to stay in deep water habitats. Of the almost 4.5 million acres of alligator habitat available in Louisiana, coastal marshes account for more than 3 million, followed by cypress-tupelo swamp (750,600 acres), Atchafalaya Basin swamp (207,000 acres), and lakes (32,105 acres). Although alligators can be found in ponds, lakes, canals, rivers, swamps, and bayous in Louisiana, they are most common in our coastal marshes. Louisiana and Florida have the largest alligator populations-there are more than one million wild alligators in each state. Alligators range from central Texas eastward to North Carolina.
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