MEET THE FAMILY AMERICAN ALLIGATORS of Big Cypress Swamp Near Florida’s southwestern coast lies a sprawling wetland about the size of Rhode Island In Big Cypress National Preserve bald cypress cypress trees tower more than 100 feet 30 5 m tall In their dappled shade orchids and epiphytes epiphytes grow Ferns blanket the ground alligators alligators water snakes and river otters share the early September floodwater long legged herons wade watching for fish The coming coming dry season will invite panthers bobcats and black bears deeper into the swamp On a bank safely above the waterline sits a mound of soil leaves and sticks It is about five feet 1 5 m in diameter and three feet 0 9 m high A female American alligator has been guarding the mound and the 37 eggs buried beneath For the past 65 days the rotting vegetation has created heat to incubate incubate the eggs Now a low chirp emanates from the mound Then another The eggs are hatching
CLOSE-UP Egg tooth Inside their eggs baby alligators develop a thorny projection on the tip of their snout This tooth is used to rip through the tough eggshell Within a week of hatching the tooth is resorbed
01 CHAPTER ONE life begins Alligators are semiaquatic reptiles They breathe air and live on land but spend much of their time in the water Like all reptiles alligators cannot generate their own body heat To warm up they lie in the sun to absorb heat When they need to cool off they lie in the shade or submerge themselves in water By adjusting the amount of air in their lungs alligators can float or sink at will When an alligator goes underwater its body seals up tight like a submarine Folds of skin close over its ears Muscles squeeze its nostrils shut Its tongue which is attached to the bottom of its mouth works like a plug to block its throat BIG CYPRESS SWAMP ALLIGATOR MILESTONES DAY 1 Hatch from eggs Black skin marked with yellow bands Weight 2 4 ounces 68 g Length 8 inches 20 3 cm 7
