ALLIGATOR CROCODILIA GENUS THE FAMILY ALLIGATORIDAE LIVING SPECIES THE AMERICAN THE CHINESE SINENSIS EXTINCT SPECIES FOSSIL ALLIGATORS FIRST APPEARED PALEOCENE EPOCH MILLION YEARS AGO NAME PROBABLY ANGLICIZED SPANISH TERM LIZARD SPANISH EXPLORERS SETTLERS FLORIDA THE ALLIGATOR ENGLISH AVERAGE ADULT AMERICAN ALLIGATORS LENGTH SOMETIMES GROW WEIGH LARGEST EVER MEASURED MALES AVERAGE LIFESPAN SPECIMEN BELGRADE ZOO SERBIA GERMANY VALID EXIST DATE OF BIRTH OFFICIALLY MUJA LIVING IN CAPTIVITY NATIVE THE UNITED STATES CHINA THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES LOUISIANA SOUTHERN PARTS GEORGIA ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI COASTAL SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA EAST TEXAS CORNER OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS SCHOLASTIC BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS THE MAJORITY SOUTHERN FLORIDA THE ONLY PLACE CROCODILE LIVE IN FRESHWATER MARSH WETLAND SWAMP CONSTRUCT HOLES THE WETLANDS INCREASE PLANT DIVERSITY HABITAT OTHER ANIMALS MAINTAINING ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY HEAVY GRAZING COYPU MUSKRAT CAUSING DAMAGE FEED VITAL ECOLOGICAL SERVICE THE YANGTZE RIVER VALLEY DOZEN BELIEVED LEFT IN THE WILD CHINESE ZOOS AROUND THE WORLD ROCKEFELLER WILDLIFE REFUGE SOUTHERN LOUISIANA CAPTIVITY ATTEMPT PRESERVE MIAMI METROZOO BREEDING PAIR MALE SOLITARY TERRITORIAL ANIMALS SMALLER LARGE NUMBERS CLOSE TO EACH PRIME TERRITORY HIGHER TOLERANCE SIMILAR SIZE MOVE ON TWO FORMS LOCOMOTION SPRAWL HIGH WALK THE SPRAWL FORWARD MOVEMENT BELLY MAKING CONTACT THE GROUND USED TO SLITHER SUBSTRATE THE HIGH WALK FORWARD MOTION OVERLAND TRAVEL RISE UP BALANCE HIND LEGS SEMI STEP FORWARD UPWARD WALK ON BODY SLOW METABOLISM SHORT ANIMALS KILL DRAGGING WATER FOOD EATEN BITE BITING SPINNING TORN DEATH ROLL CRITICAL THE ALLIGATORS ABILITY TAIL MUST FLEX ANGLE CANNOT PERFORM MUSCLE JAW EVOLVED GRIP MUSCLES JAWS OPENING HUMAN HOLD SHUT COMMON TODAY WRAPS DUCT TAPE PREVENT HANDLED GENERALLY HUMANS SWIM AWAY PEOPLE THE PRACTICE NESTS MANNER PROVOKE THE ANIMALS FEEDING WILD EVENTUALLY FEAR OF LEARN ASSOCIATE BECOMING GREATER DANGER RISK TYPE DEPENDS SNAIL WORM FISH PARTICULARLY STOMACHS GIZZARD STONE CARRION AMBUSH FLORIDA PANTHER BLACK BEARS APEX PREDATOR ROLE TOP PREDATOR DETERMINE ABUNDANCE TURTLES DO NOT IMMEDIATELY ATTACK MATURE THE MATING SEASON LATE SPRING MINUTES TIMES THREE HOURS BELLOWS POWERFUL INFRASOUND DISPLAY LOUD RECENTLY SPRING NIGHTS GATHER GROUP DANCES IN SUMMER FEMALE NEST VEGETATION DECOMPOSITION THE HEAT INCUBATE SEX THE OFFSPRING DETERMINED TEMPERATURE THE NEST FIXED SEVEN DAYS START INCUBATION TEMPERATURES PRODUCE CLUTCH FEMALES LEAVES HOTTER THE BABY EGG TOOTH GET OUT EGG HATCHING THE NATURAL SEX RATIO EGGS THE MOTHER DEFENDS PREDATORS ASSISTS HATCHLINGS SHE WILL PROTECTION YOUNG THREAT PREDATION ADULTS ACCOUNT MORTALITY RATE UP TO THE FIRST YEAR OUTLAWING ALLIGATOR HUNTING POPULATIONS QUICKLY NUMBER PREYING INCREASING SURVIVAL EXHIBIT AMNIOTE TIDAL BREATHING FLOWS LUNGS BRANCHING BRONCHI TERMINATE CHAMBERS ALVEOLI INSPIRED MOVE BACK THE SAME WAY MOVING ONLY ONE DIRECTION OUTER MOVES EXITS THE LUNG OXYGEN EXCHANGE TAKES FLAT TAILS PROPEL TWO KINDS WHITE ALBINO LEUCISTIC IMPOSSIBLE FIND SURVIVE AQUARIUM OF THE AMERICAS NEW ORLEANS RAISED MEAT ECONOMIC BENEFITS VISITORS BENEFIT CONTROL MILLIONS DOLLARS BOUNTY MONEY ALLIGATOR MEAT CONSUMED THE ARCHBISHOP RULED CATHOLIC CHURCH DISCIPLINE RELATION ABSTENTION THE FLESH AMERICAN CROCODILE CAIMAN DECADE ALLIGATOR FARM AVAILABLE THE STATE ARCHIVES PUBLIC USE