Saving the Endangered American Alligator

Saving the Endangered American Alligator — page 1 — ALLIGATORS IN THE WILD Alligators or gators as they are also called have fas cinated people for a long time Some people have even tried to keep them as pets They soon found out that was not a good idea however Alligators are large and dangerous animals that should live in the wild Being taken out of the wild is one reason 4 Adult alligators are long and large and they do not make good house pets

Saving the Endangered American Alligator — page 2 — 5 why American alligators became an endangered spe cies Other reasons were overhunting and a loss of the places gators call home In the 1960s the United States government and caring individuals real ized that alligators were in danger of dying out Steps were taken to save them Today American alligators are no longer endangered The story of how gators were saved may help endangered animals in the future ALLIGATORS IN THE WILD Endangered species are plants and animals that are in danger of disappearing forever Vocabulary When resting underwater only the alligator’s eyes and nose can be seen

Saving the Endangered American Alligator — page 3 — 6 Alligators belong to the group of animals called rep tiles A reptile is an air-breathing animal that has scales on the outside of its body instead of hair or feathers Liz ards turtles crocodiles and snakes are other types of reptiles Alligators are re lated to crocodiles The two look very similar but they each belong in their own family of reptiles TYPES OF ALLIGATORS The scales of an alligator look like a suit of armor

Saving the Endangered American Alligator — page 4 — 7 TYPES OF ALLIGATORS There are two species or types of alligator the American alligator and the Chinese alligator The Ameri can alligator is the larger of the two Chinese alliga tors are very rare meaning there are not many of them alive They are con sidered an endan gered species Viewed from above it is easy to see dif ferences between alligators top and crocodiles Seeing an American alligator in the wild is much more common than seeing a Chinese alligator Why might that be the case Compare and Contrast

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