Alligators are known to be semi-aquatic animals and can live on land. Alligators are large aquatic reptiles and are not something that is pleasant to be spotted. Their basic instinct is eating and hardly has other instincts except for their interest in eating. Talking about their brain size, it is merely the size as of a walnut whereas their body size is huge and weighs about 600pounds. Alligators can eat almost anything including dogs, fishes, pets, marsh mellows, etc. They prefer to dine during the night time and sleep during the day. They usually settle themselves at the corners and banks of water bodies and can sleep for the whole day. They adhere to their background so well that you can hardly tell that an alligator is lying at the banks except for the red eyes that they possess. They mate in the months of May and June and are on Earth for basically three purposes, eating, mating and reproducing. They are aggressive animals, and you should always avoid an alligator when they are out for coupling because they can be ferocious at that time. They are not monsters but can be dangerous and hence should be treated with respect if you don’t want to fall as prey to these beasts.
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Types of alligators
Basically, there are two types of alligators namely the Chinese alligator and the American alligator. Let us discuss about both these alligators in detail.
American alligator
The weight of an American alligator weighs in the range of 170 to 180 pounds in normal cases and can reach up to 800 pounds given that there is plenty of food. The length of these alligators is approximately 13feet. These alligators are generally found in the cities of Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi states of the United States of America. Out of these places Florida holds its name in inhibiting crocodiles and alligators in huge numbers. Florida and Louisiana states are blessed with a lot many lakes, rivers, swamps, etc. which makes it a perfect place for the alligators to breed and live.
Chinese alligator
The Chinese alligators are found in the country of China and are comparatively smaller in size compared to the American alligators. Even if you talk about the sharpness of their teeth, the American alligators have sharper teeth in comparison to their Chinese counterparts. The snouts of the Chinese alligators are tapered and are slightly in a turned fashion towards the ends. The teeth of these types of alligators are not very sharp but have the capacity of crushing their prey better.
Where do alligators live?
Many people have a question in their minds as to where do the alligators live? The answer to this is not a single place but multiple places such as rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes, etc. they can be near any water bodies except those that are saline in nature such as seas. This is because the alligators do not have salt glands and they cannot withstand saltwater. The alligators can survive in both subtropical and tropical areas.
Do alligators attack human?
Alligator attacks are rare, but it is not that there have been absolutely no cases alligators attacking humans. So one has to be really careful and alert if one is around the places where alligators are highly found. Usually, humans become prey to the alligators at the water edges, and thus every individual should be cautious when they are along the shorelines and should stay away from being very close to the shores.
When do these alligators attack humans?
If you are planning to swim with the alligators, then you either need to be a daredevil or a person with some supernatural powers to escape an attack by the alligators. Alligators do not merely come and attack the human beings until and unless people try to play games with them or give them an open invitation for an attack. Yes, sometimes alligators are unpredictable and can attack people without reason, but in most of the cases, they do not attack for no reason. You also need to adhere to some rules if you are residing in places which are inhibited by these alligators. If you sight an alligator in pond that is nearby your place of residence then you cannot simply play up games, you need to be cautious and alert to avoid yourself from falling as a prey to the alligators.
Here are some rules that you need to follow in order to be safe.
The alligators can even eat up sharks and bears, and they can eat you up too. They do not have a craving for eating humans, but they find you as a source of food to satisfy their hunger. As you see a juicy burger and chuckle to yourself of having one, in the same way, they may also treat you as something tasty and wait for you to gulp you up. So the next time you plan to dive down the blues be pretty sure that there are no alligators where you are planning to have a gala bath. They are simply wild beasts and come in the top of the food chain and will not regret making you as a supper, so carefulness is utmost necessary when you are planning to jump in the blues.
Alligators are damn particular about their nest especially the female alligators. So don’t you dare go near their nests and invite trouble for yourself. When you go nearby their nests, then they consider you as a threat to their young ones, and you know how much a baby means to their mothers. The mother alligators can chase you off if you accidentally happen to step up in places where they have their nests.
Even your pets can be in danger if they move around the shores of the water bodies. So be careful about them and make sure that they do not run to such places where there are chances of sighting an alligator. The alligators can snatch away your pets in a quick span and have a good treat for their dinner. So if you are planning to visit such places then either leave your pets at home or even if you are taking them along ensure that they do not accidentally get near to such places where you can spot an alligator.
If somebody warns you about an alligator being sighted nearby or if you happen to see an alligator yourself then never get down in the water.
Tips to save yourself from being bitten by alligators
One of the most important precautions that you should take while you are out with your children to the nearby water areas is to keep them under proper surveillance at all times. Don’t leave your child unattended nearby water areas in order to keep them safe.
Don’t ever swim in water bodies where alligators find their resting place. Don’t try to be a daredevil and overlook the fact of the water body being inhibited by alligators.
If you are opting out for a swimming session, then make sure that you are swimming during the day hours and not during dusk and dawn because alligators are very active during this time. The alligators are usually busy in having their supper during the nights and what if you accidently knock their doors during this time? You are sure to become the alligator’s sushi for the night. So make sure that you are not walking along the river banks or planning to swim during the night or you are not even going to get your bones for the funeral rights.
Also, save your pets from swimming in areas which are inhibited by alligators in order to keep them safe.
Never try to be friendly and feed the alligators if you sight one of them near the water bodies. It can be a source of danger for you, and the alligators may think you as their food so stay away from any such activities. For few days you may enjoy feeding them and may have a good enjoyment source of seeing hose alligators gulping the food thrown by you. But have you ever thought what will happen if one day you don’t have food for them? The alligators associate you as a source of food if you feed them and God forbid if you don’t have food for them even once then you are going to be their food for that day.
Don’t make alligator your pet it may attack you despite being a pet. So stay away from accepting an alligator as a pet.
If an alligator happens to bite you, then the only way out to save your skin is to fight back and to defend as to make as much noise as possible that you can make to force the alligator to release its grip. Try to hit and kick the alligator instead of giving up and fight back till you attain success.
How to get rid of alligators?
Prevention & Removal of alligators is not an easy task when it comes to getting rid of alligators. If you are living in an area which is inhibited by the alligators as well, then you very well know the dangers that may be surrounding you for sharing the same space with the alligators. These alligators can wander here and there for their food, and thus one needs to be alert if this is your case. Here are some helpful tips that will help you to prevent these wild beasts from entering your place.
If you are living in areas where you can sight an alligator, then make sure that you prevent them from entering your back yard. For this, you can build big boundary walls along all the four corners of your house and make it so high that there are no chances of these alligators creeping inside.
You should remove all the attractants for an alligator to reach your boundary. If you have a swimming pool in your house, then make sure that it is covered at all times until in use so that it doesn’t give an invitation to the alligators. All food sources should also be removed from your area, and all your doors and windows should be shut at all times so that there are no such chances of alligators invading your property.
If by chance it happens that an alligator has entered your property and you have almost bumped into it. Then don’t proceed further, you are not a wrestler who can fight back with the alligator. Firstly, move back slowly and make a safe distance with the alligator without making much of noise. Once you have reached a safe distance them, you can call an animal control company to do the needful.
If you encounter an alligator nearby your house, then don’t try to shoot them or poison them as it can be dangerous and can lead you and your near and dear ones around you in danger as well. Also, make sure that you inform your neighbors as well about sighting an alligator so that they can also adopt all the safety measures for being safe at their home.
Avoid anything that may surprise the animal and can cause an attack by these wild beasts. So remain calm and stop any such activity that you may be doing so that it doesn’t annoy the animals and wait for the animal control company to reach your house and remove the monster from your home.
Alligator habits
Firstly, the very first step to staying safe from being attacked by an alligator is to avoid being in such places where you can easily sight one. The alligators don’t usually attack until you are closer to them so make sure that you are cautious and not closer to the riverbanks.
If you are unlucky enough to bump into an alligator, then run away from it as soon as possible. These alligators are aggressive and may attack you if they find something annoying. So run back in such a way that you need to win the race and as if there is no tomorrow.
Do not get into the waters at night because this is the time when the alligators have their dinner, and we think you don’t want to be on their plates, right?
Alligators have signs of warning you by making hissing sounds, opening their mouths and moving their heads and bodies in your direction. So if you find an alligator doing this don’t try to mess up with them and run to save your skin.
Myths about alligators
There are some common myths regarding alligators here are few of them:
Running zigzag on plotting an alligator
People have a misconception in their minds that one should run in a zigzag fashion on plotting an alligator. But this is not the truth, and if you sight an alligator, then you should not run helter-skelter instead run straight to save your life. It is very rare that alligators make humans their prey because humans are large in size and do not serve as a suitable prey for them but make sure that you are not walking nearby their nesting places or they may not spare you. If you are unlucky and fall victim to an alligator, then make sure you are running fast and in a straight line. The alligators cannot run behind you for far off distances and eventually stop chasing you after a certain distance so keep running till you find the alligators quitting in their chase.
Eyesight
Many people think that alligators have poor vision, but this is something utterly wrong which people have cropped up in their minds. The alligators do have good eyesight and can also easily sense the movements of their prey. Their eyes are situated at the sides of their head and thus allow them to have a good range of vision to greater distances. The only thing that they cannot sight is behind their back, but if you talk about the front vision capabilities, then their eyesight is very powerful and can see up to long distances.
Alligators can be adopted as pets
Having a baby alligator at your house can be a trendy and cool idea, but, No it is not! You may think of adopting a baby alligator as a pet, but it is illegal and not worthy as well.
They are non-climbers
People think that alligators cannot climb, but this is again a myth and not the reality. The alligators are well fledged with powerful tails and sharp claws which help them in pushing in the forward direction thus enabling them to climb. Especially the alligators that are young can climb at a good pace. Even the old and adult alligators can climb fences to get into places where they can get water. If you are building fences so that these alligators don’t escape to the nearby surroundings, then make sure that the boundary walls or fences are about 4.5 feet high so that these alligators do not attempt of escaping out.