Alligators Are Not Pets!

Alligators Are Not Pets! — page 1 — Contents Contents Contents Contents Contents Too Scary to Pet 4 Warm-Weather Creatures 6 Alligator Comeback 10 Alligator Laws 12 Nuisance Alligators 14 Alligator Diet 16 Alligator Attacks 20 Alligator Defense 24 Alligators Importance 26 Increasing Attacks 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 Words in the glossary appear in bold type the ﬁrst time they are used in the text

Alligators Are Not Pets! — page 2 — Too Scary To Pet Most animals that make good pets are smaller than people Those that aren’t smaller such as horses eat plants Adult alligators are bigger than people and like to eat only one thing MEAT Alligators are awesome animals to see at the zoo but they don’t make good pets A full-grown male growth SPURTS alligator may grow more than 13 feet 4 m long and weigh over 500 pounds 227 kg Females are about half as heavy and grow to be about 9 feet 2 7 m long Smaller doesn’t mean less dangerous though Mother alligators are ﬁerce when protecting their babies Depending on environment and age alligators grow at different rates In warm conditions a young alligator grows quickly An alligator in hot Louisiana may grow as much as 12 inches 30 cm a year One of the largest alligators ever found in that state was 19 feet 2 inches 5 8 m long 4

Alligators Are Not Pets! — page 3 — Alligators have long lives They can live about 40 years in the wild and some in zoos have lived even longer 5

Alligators Are Not Pets! — page 4 — Warm-Weather Creatures Alligators are only found in the southeastern United States and China They live in freshwater lakes rivers ponds swamps and marshes Alligators don’t spend much time in salt water like crocodiles do Crocodiles have special glands on their tongue that allow them to force salt out of their bodies Alligators don’t have this ability crocodile OR ALLIGATOR O In the wild American alligators are found all over Florida and Louisiana and along the coasts of Texas Mississippi Alabama Georgia South Carolina and North Carolina Alligators also live in the waterways of Arkansas and even in southeastern Oklahoma Crocodiles and alligators look similar However the trained eye can tell them apart The heads of the reptiles are different Alligators have a wider snout than crocodiles Also when an alligator’s mouth is closed their teeth don’t show much The fourth tooth in a crocodile’s lower jaw sticks up over its upper lip 6

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