How Heavy Is A Full Grown American Alligator?

Males average 10 to 15 feet in length and can weigh 1,000 pounds. Females grow to a maximum of about 9.8 feet.[1]

How Much Does A Full Grown Male Alligator Weigh?

Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.8 m (11.2 to 15.7 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 560 kg (1,230 lb), with unverified sizes of up to 5.85 m (19.2 ft) and weights of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) making it the second largest member of the family Alligatoridae, after the black caiman.[2]

How Big Is A Full Grown Male Alligator?

Male alligators are larger than female alligators. The average adult size for a female is 8.2 feet (2.6 meters), and the average size for a male is 11.2 feet (3.4 meters). Exceptionally large males can reach a weight of nearly half a ton or 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms).[3]

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How Much Does A Male American Alligator Weigh?

An average male American alligator is 10 to 15 feet (three to five meters) long. Half of its length is its massive, strong tail. An alligator can weigh as much as half a ton (1,000 pounds), but an average male weighs between 500 and 600 pounds (227 to 272 kilograms). Females are usually smaller than males.[4]

When Was The American Alligator Put On The Endangered List

In 1967, the alligator was listed as an endangered species, and was considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 prohibited alligator hunting, allowing the species to rebound in many areas where it had been depleted.[5]

Why Was The American Alligator Declared Endangered In 1967?

The American alligator was first listed as endangered in 1967, due to poorly regulated hunting and habitat loss. It was among the landmark “Class of ’67,” the first class of 78 species to warrant federal protection under the precursor to the existing endangered species law.[6]

Is The American Alligator A Protected Species?

The American alligator first received protection under Federal law in 1967 when it was listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (32 FR 4001, March 11, 1967), a predecessor to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C.Jan 19, 2021[7]

How Is The American Alligator A Keystone Species

Alligators are considered “keystone species”, a species that helps to fashion its environment and influence the types of species that live there. Alligators perform necessary services like providing fresh water for other wildlife to drink during droughts by digging “gator holes” that bring groundwater to the surface.[8]

Why Is The American Alligator Important To The Ecosystem?

As alligators move from gator holes to nesting mounds, they help keep areas of open water free of invading vegetation. Without these ecosystem services, freshwater ponds and shrubs and trees would fill in coastal wetlands in the alligator’s habitat, and dozens of species would disappear.[9]

What Would Happen If The American Alligator Was Removed?

If alligators are removed from their native ecosystem, it would affect countless other species. As an American alligator’s teeth wear down or fall out, new ones come in. An alligator can go through 3,000 teeth in a lifetime.[10]

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How Long Has The American Alligator Been Around

The species, scientists say, is more than 150 million years old, managing to avoid extinction 65 million years ago when their prehistoric contemporaries, the dinosaurs, died off.[11]

How Long Have Alligators Been In America?

Fossils identical to the existing American alligator are found throughout the Pleistocene, from 2.5 million to 11.7 thousand years ago. In 2016, a Miocene (about 23 to 5.3 Mya) fossil skull of an alligator was found at Marion County, Florida.[12]

When Did The American Alligator Evolve?

The first alligator ancestors evolved some 245 million years ago. About 80 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, crocodilians appeared.[13]

When Did Alligators Start Existing?

Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.[14]

Is The American Alligator A Dinosaur?

Alligators are not dinosaurs, though they belong to the same order as dinosaurs once did. Their ancestors were closely related to dinosaurs and walked the earth at the same time. While dinosaurs went extinct, alligator ancestors went on to evolve into the alligators we see on Earth today.[15]

How Close Is Too Close American Alligator

It is highly unlikely to be chased by an alligator but as a precaution, a safe distance from an adult alligator should be maintained at about 60 feet. If the alligator hisses or lunges at you, you are too close.[16]

How Much Space Do American Alligators Need?

Female alligators usually remain in a small area. Males can occupy areas greater than two square miles. Both males and females extend their ranges during the breeding season.[17]

What Happens If You Get Too Close To An Alligator?

Alligators have a natural fear of humans, and usually begin a quick retreat when approached by people. If you have a close encounter with an alligator a few yards away, back away slowly. It is extremely rare for wild alligators to chase people, but they can run up to 35 miles per hour for short distances on land.[18]

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What Is The Northernmost Range Of Alligators?

Alligators are hemmed in to a narrower band of habitat today. The northernmost point of their range in the wild is traditionally thought to be in North Carolina, about a dozen miles from the border with Virginia.[19]

Are American Alligators Aggressive?

Alligators are not generally aggressive toward humans, but aberrant behavior may occur. Smaller alligators usually bite only once; however, up to one third of attacks may involve repeated bites.[20]

How Does A Albino American Alligator Get Its Food

White Alligator | Zoo – Audubon Nature Instituteaudubonnatureinstitute.org › zoo › white-alligator[21]

How Do American Alligators Get Their Food?

They eat fish, snails and other invertebrates, birds, frogs and mammals that come to the water’s edge. They use their sharp teeth to seize and hold prey. They swallow small prey whole. If the prey is large, they shake it apart into smaller, manageable pieces.[22]

What Does The Albino Alligators Eat?

Like normal alligators, white gators eat everything from fish and snails to nutria and turtles.[23]

What Causes An Alligator To Be Albino?

Albino alligators are alligators that lack the ability to produce melanin in their skin. This genetic defect gives their skin a yellowish white appearance and the eyes generally cast a pinkish hue due to the visible blood vessels in the colorless irises.[24]

What Does The American Alligator Eat?

Juvenile alligators eat primarily insects, amphibians, small fish, and other invertebrates. Adult alligators eat rough fish, snakes, turtles, small mammals, and birds.[25]

What Does The Komodo Dragon And The American Alligator Have In Common

Both the Komodo dragon and the alligator rely on their teeth to kill their prey. Moreover, they are both ambush predators that viciously attack their prey and know where the vital areas are to deal tremendous damage.Feb 1, 2022[26]

How Are Alligators And Lizards Related?

Reptiles are turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles. Unlike amphibians, reptiles breathe only through their lungs and have dry, scaly skin that prevents them from drying out. Amphibians and reptiles are together called herpetofauna, or “herps” for short.[27]

Is A Komodo Dragon Related To A Crocodile?

Komodo dragons only live in Indonesia. Komodo dragons are a form of lizard while crocodiles are a different reptile entirely, so their looks, size, and hunting characteristics are very different. These are all important distinctions between the creatures, but they are not the only ones.[28]

Who Would Win In A Fight Between A Crocodile And A Komodo Dragon?

A saltwater crocodile will always win in a battle with a Komodo dragon. The Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard on the planet, but the crocodile weighs six times more. Crocodiles are very fast and unpredictable. The Komodo dragon would be grabbed and drowned before it knew what hit it.[29]

How Long Does A Female American Alligator Stay With Her Young For Kids

Newly hatched young are only about six to eight inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long, and very vulnerable. Their mother protects them from predators, which include raccoons, bobcats, birds, and even other alligators. The young alligators stay with their mother for up to two years.[30]

Resources

[1]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/american-alligator
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator
[3]https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-alligator
[4]https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/american-alligator
[5]https://www.captainjacksairboattours.com/7-are-alligators-endangered/
[6]https://www.esa.org/esablog/2012/06/04/the-american-alligator-and-its-importance-to-the-florida-everglades/
[7]https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/19/2021-01012/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-pertaining-to-the-american-alligator
[8]http://www.shipyardhhi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Alligator-tent-card.pdf
[9]http://www.brookfield.k12.oh.us/Downloads/Reinsel%2520Go%2520Green%2520Day%25202.pdf
[10]https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/American-Alligator
[11]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/american-alligator
[12]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator
[13]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/facts/brachychampsa-montana
[14]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator
[15]https://a-z-animals.com/blog/are-alligators-dinosaurs/
[16]https://srelherp.uga.edu/alligators/alligator-safety.htm
[17]https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-alligator
[18]https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/alligator/safety/index.phtml
[19]https://slate.com/technology/2013/02/alligators-in-virginia-climate-change-could-be-pushing-cold-blooded-species-into-your-backyard.html
[20]https://journalistsresource.org/environment/alligator-fatal-attacks-encounters-humans-historical-data-research/
[21]https://audubonnatureinstitute.org/zoo/white-alligator
[22]https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-alligator
[23]https://audubonnatureinstitute.org/zoo/white-alligator
[24]https://alligatoradventure.com/animals/albino-alligators/
[25]https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/alligator/facts/
[26]https://a-z-animals.com/blog/komodo-dragon-vs-alligator-who-would-win-in-a-fight/
[27]https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/amphibian_conservation/faq.html
[28]https://a-z-animals.com/blog/komodo-dragon-vs-crocodile-who-would-win-in-a-fight/
[29]https://naturenoon.com/komodo-dragon-vs-crocodile/
[30]https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/american-alligator