Swamp Men: One Bad Gator Facts
Photo: Large alligator with loose rope (View larger version)
- Fully grown American alligators have a bite upwards of 2,000 pounds of force.
- Alligators can climb. Adult alligators have been known to climb over fences to escape captivity or get to a source of water.
- Florida has the worst nuisance alligator problem of any state, at about 4,000 reported nuisance alligators per year.
- Alligator calls are used in the capture of alligators. The sound makes the alligator think another gator has moved into its territory, enticing it to come out and defend it.
- Alligators are territorial animals and will defend prime territory if it is threatened.
- Alligators can stay submerged without a breath of air for hours.
- Caimans are members of the crocodile order. Like alligators and crocodiles, caimans are amphibious reptiles that live near bodies of water and hunt for food.
- Caimans are nocturnal and prefer to hunt at night.
- Throughout much of the world, the caiman is considered a protected species.
- The largest of the caiman family, the black caiman, can reach a maximum length of about 15 feet.
