The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), is a large crocodilian reptile found in freshwater wetlands from Texas to the North Carolina / Virginia border in the southeastern United States. The alligator is distinguished from the American crocodile by its broader snout, overlapping jaws and darker coloration, and is less tolerant of saltwater but more tolerant of cooler climates than the American crocodile, which is found only in tropical climates.

American alligator by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve is a linear swamp forest, approximately twenty miles long by five miles wide. "The Fakahatchee" hosts a wide array of habitats and forest types from the wetter swamps and prairies to the drier islands of tropical hardwood hammocks and pine rock lands. Its groves of native royal palms are the most abundant in the state. The ecosystem of the Fakahatchee Strand is the only place in the world where bald cypress trees and royal palms share the forest canopy.

Historically, alligator hunting had decimated their population, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from the list in 1987. American alligators are now harvested for their skins and meat. The species is the official state reptile of three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

American alligator by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The Fakahatchee is home to a variety of plant and animal species that can be found nowhere else in the continental United States. The Fakahatchee Strand is the Orchid Capital of the United States.

American alligators are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Hatchlings feed mostly on invertebrates. Adult alligators play an important role as ecosystem engineers in wetland ecosystems through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other organisms.

Hello by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The American alligator is considered an apex predator throughout its range. They are opportunists and their diet is determined largely by both the size and age of the alligator and the size and availability of prey. Fish and other aquatic prey, taken in the water or at the water's edge, form the major part of alligator's diet and may be eaten at any time of the day or night. Adult American alligators also spend considerable time hunting on land, up to 50 yards from water, ambushing terrestrial animals on trailsides and road shoulders.

Eyes On You


Crocodilia is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic archosaurian reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria, the group that includes all extinct dinosaurs.

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