Gator Facts: Things You Might Not Know About Alligators

Beloved sports team mascot, apex predator, survivor – you could use any of these terms to describe the alligator. While these creatures probably walked among dinosaurs, they managed to adapt, evolve, and endure over millions of years, and now they are a vital part of our landscape and ecosystem, especially in South Louisiana. It isn’t hard to spot an alligator or two (or a whole congregation!) on one of our swamp tours, you may not know some of the most interesting facts about these beasts:

You can spot an alligator by its short, rounded snout (Photo by Ansie Potgieter)

Alligators vs Crocodiles

Many people confuse these two cousin reptiles, but with a little background knowledge, you can easily spot the differences. Alligators have wider, more rounded snouts, where crocodiles have much longer, pointier ones. When their mouths are closed, you can only see an alligator’s top row of teeth, but both sets of teeth are visible on a crocodile, even when its mouth is closed. While both animals can be very aggressive (trust us, you do NOT want to upset either of them), alligators are significantly less so than their hostile cousins. You will generally find alligators in fresh water, like the rivers and swamps of Louisiana and Florida, but the crocodile has a built-in filtration system that allows it to live in both saltwater and brackish water (which is a mix of salt and fresh waters).  Alligators can tolerate brackish water to an extent so you will find them in some of our brackish swamps closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

Gators Go Through Tons of Teeth

Alligators typically have around 80 teeth in their mouth at a time, teeth they use in conjunction with their powerful jaws to clamp down and devour their prey, but they also cycle through their teeth pretty quickly. In fact, alligators may lose and replace each tooth up to 50 times in their lifespan, meaning they will, over time, have up to 3,000 teeth!

Don’t let the short legs fool you - these creatures move fast in water and on land (Photo by Lisa Yount)

Ancient Animals

Alligators have survived millions and millions of years, and amazingly they are not that different today than their ancestors who were contemporaries of dinosaurs. Dating back all the way to the Cretaceous period, the alligator’s ancestor is one of the oldest reptiles, only beat by ancient sea turtles!

Tiny Legs, Impressive Speed

Don’t let the alligator’s short limbs fool you – these leathery creatures can run up to 35 miles per hour on land. While most of their hunting happens in the water, they are known to make a quick pursuit on the ground when the need arises, swishing their impressive tails back and forth to propel them faster.

A congregation of gators basking in the sun

Turn Off the Lights – They Glow!

Unlike Vanilla Ice, alligators really do have some glowing properties. Their eyes light up at night because of a tapetum lucidum at the back of each eye (like cats!). This structure reflects light into the photoreceptor cells, allowing alligators to see at night. This also allows us to see them at night as they move through the water with their red glowing eyes just above the surface.

Hear Them Roar

It turns out that alligators are actually the loudest reptiles in the world. This may not seem like a big deal – who even thinks of reptiles being loud?? But their roars, or bellows, can actually reach up to 90 decibels (about the volume of a running lawn mower), whereas humans’ voices typically top out around 70 decibels. There’s still a bit of mystery around why alligators roar, but they do tend to do it more during mating season. Perhaps this attracts mates and also wards off other gators that might encroach on their territory.

What a cute baby gator! (Photo by Gaetano Cessati)

Caring Mamas, Hungry Dads

Alligators are known to be quite caring of their young, keeping them close for the first two years of their lives, which is pretty uncharacteristic of other reptiles. The mothers protect and feed their babies as they grow, but the father gators are a different story. Many baby gators die before maturity, and at least a small part of those that die do so because they are eaten by their parents. Researchers believe this might be because one litter of alligators can actually be fathered by multiple male alligators, and the males can’t tell which babies belong to them after they’re born.

Big Fellas

Alligators grow for the majority of their lives. Their growth slows down significantly once they reach the age of ten, but the males continue growing about half an inch a year until they’re around 20 or 30 years old. These full-size gators can range from almost 10 feet long for females and around 12 feet long for males, weighing upwards of 1,000 pounds. The largest alligator on record, however, measured just over 19 feet long! This gator was captured in Vermillion Parish back in 1890, and its record is yet to be beat! These creatures can live up to around 50 years, but currently Muja, an American alligator living in a Serbian zoo, just celebrated his 86th birthday – he has survived World War II, multiple bombings, and he’s the oldest living alligator in captivity (and has quite the TikTok following).

Alligators really are some of the most interesting creatures, and lucky for you that a visit to South Louisiana means you’ll get to observe them in their natural habitat. Book a swamp tour with us today to see the incredibly beautiful places where our alligators call home, and you might even get to hold one if you’re brave enough!