American Alligator
- Alligator mississipiensis
- The alligator has a large dark body with thick limbs, a broad, rounded head and a very powerful tail which accounts for half of the alligator's length. The average size for a female is between 6 to 8 feet, a male can reach lengths of 10 to 12 feet.
- Alligators live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps and occasionally in brackish water.
- Their range extends south from coastal swamps in North and South Carolina to the tip of southern Florida, then west along the Gulf Coast to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
- They eat a wide variety of foods including fish, crabs, crayfish, frogs, snails, turtles, snakes, wading birds, raccoons, otters, deer, and other alligators.
- An alligator uses its mouth and claws to uproot vegetation and with its body and tail, it wallows out a depression that stays full of water in the wet season. During the dry season,
"gator holes" provide vital water for other species, making the American alligator a "keystone species".
- Keystone species help to support the ecosystem (entire community of life) of which they are a part.
Location at Palm Beach Zoo
- Near the Florida pioneer home.
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