How many alligators are there in the world

One look at these menacing predators—with their armored, lizard-like bodies, muscular tails, and powerful jaws—and it is obvious they are envoys from the distant past. The species, scientists say, is more than million years old, managing to avoid extinction 65 million years ago when their prehistoric contemporaries, the dinosaurs, died off. American alligators reside nearly exclusively in the freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps, and marshes of the southeastern United States, primarily Florida and Louisiana.

Heavy and ungainly out of water, these reptiles are supremely well adapted swimmers. Males average 10 to 15 feet in length and can weigh 1, pounds. Females grow to a maximum of about 9.

Hatchlings are 6 to 8 inches long with yellow and black stripes. Juveniles, which are on the menu for dozens of predators, including birds, raccoons, bobcats, and even other alligators, usually stay with their mothers for about two years. Adult alligators are apex predators critical to the biodiversity of their habitat. They feed mainly on fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals.

However, they are opportunists, and a hungry gator will eat just about anything, including carrion, pets and, in rare instances, humans. All rights reserved. Common Name: American alligators. Great Plains. Greater Everglades. Northwest Florida. Rocky Mountains. Sagebrush Sea. Sky Islands. Southern Appalachians. Temperate Rainforest. Texas Hill Country. Wetlands and Rivers. Our Work. Conserving Imperiled Species. Advocating for International Species.

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Become an Ambassador. Hold Congress Accountable. The two kinds of alligators living in the world currently are the Chinese and American alligators. The alligator appeared 37 million years ago for the first time. The early settlers and Spanish explorers in the Florida, United States, explored the reptile and called the alligator. The Spanish name is el Lagarto. The adult American alligator weighs over kilograms with a length of about four meters. On the other hand, the Chinese alligator is much lighter and shorter in length.

The approximate weight is 50 kilograms, and the length is 2 meters. The color of the adult alligators is olive-brown or purely dark, but young ones have yellow or white marks on their bodies. The American alligators occupy the southeastern region of the United States. Found primarily in the southeastern region of the United States, it is one of two living species of alligator.

It has been hunted since the 19th century for its valuable leather and, until the s, the trade was largely unregulated. By the middle of the 20th century, American alligator populations were severely depleted.