45-581: Gator is a slang word for alligator . Gator may also refer to: Alligator An alligator , or colloquially gator , is a large reptile in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae of the order Crocodilia . The two extant species are the American alligator ( A. mississippiensis ) and the Chinese alligator ( A. sinensis ). Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during
90-401: A "death roll", spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-sized chunks are torn off. Critical to the alligator's ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. An alligator with an immobilized tail cannot perform a death roll. Most of the muscle in an alligator's jaw evolved to bite and grip prey. The muscles that close the jaws are powerful, but
135-406: A Louisiana swamp in 1987. Alligators are raised commercially for their meat and their skin, which when tanned is used for the manufacture of luggage , handbags , shoes, belts , and other leather items. Alligators also provide economic benefits through the ecotourism industry. Visitors may take swamp tours, in which alligators are a feature. Their most important economic benefit to humans may be
180-451: A breeding pair of Chinese alligators. Large male alligators are solitary territorial animals. Smaller alligators can often be found in large numbers close to each other. The largest of the species (both males and females) defend prime territory; smaller alligators have a higher tolerance for other alligators within a similar size class. Alligators move on land by two forms of locomotion, referred to as "sprawl" and "high walk". The sprawl
225-515: A broad mouth, and yellow eyes. Saturn was hatched in the wild in the U.S. state of Mississippi in 1936. He was captured that year and was shipped to Berlin , where he was brought to the Berlin Zoological Garden . It was from this period that the popular rumor emerged that Saturn was Adolf Hitler 's "pet". This may have originated with the author Boris Akunin , a Russian writer who hypothesized in an article that this may have been
270-463: A diet of fish, rabbits, and rats twice a week. Vladimir Kudryavtsev, the head of the Moscow Zoo's reptile department, said that not many visitors knew of Saturn's eventful history. Zoo staff only related Saturn's German origins to groups of visiting schoolchildren. When school groups came, the zookeepers allowed children to stick the end of a broomstick into the enclosure, which was safe because Saturn
315-584: A drunk zoo visitor threw a boulder on his head to wake him up, after which zoo veterinarians fought to keep him alive for months. Later, a group of tourists threw glass bottles at Saturn, injuring him. After these incidents, the enclosure was made more secure with the addition of a thick glass wall. In the 2010s, Saturn once again stopped eating, this time for nearly a year. Zoo staff took blood samples for analysis, and injected him with vitamins to try to keep him alive. He eventually resumed eating. In his later years, Saturn spent much of his time sleeping. He ate
360-497: A length of 1.8 m (6 ft). The mating season is in late spring. In April and May, alligators form so-called "bellowing choruses". Large groups of animals bellow together for a few minutes a few times a day, usually one to three hours after sunrise. The bellows of male American alligators are accompanied by powerful blasts of infrasound . Another form of male display is a loud head-slap. In 2010, on spring nights alligators were found to gather in large numbers for group courtship,
405-439: A meal by up to four times its basal metabolic rate. Alligators also have highly folded mucosa in the lining of the intestines to further aid in the absorption of nutrients. The folds result in greater surface area for the nutrients to be absorbed through. Alligators also have complex microbiomes that are not fully understood yet, but can be attributed to both benefits and costs to the animal. These microorganisms can be found in
450-557: A meal during brumation will begin a process called autophagy , where the animal begins to consume its fat reserves to maintain its body weight until it can acquire a sufficient meal. There is also fluctuation in the level of bacterial taxa populations in the alligator's microbial community between seasons which helps the alligator cope with different rates of feeding and activity. Like other crocodilians, alligators have an armor of bony scutes. The dermal bones are highly vascularised and aid in calcium balance, both to neutralize acids while
495-461: A time. By 2005, Saturn had a new mate, who was then thirty years old. During his time at the Moscow Zoo, Saturn experienced several narrow escapes from death. In the 1980s, a slab of concrete fell from the aquarium's ceiling into the alligator enclosure, but he was in a protective niche at the time. In 1990, a new aquarium building was built, but Saturn resisted the move, refusing to eat for four months and coming close to death. On another occasion,
SECTION 10
#1732845069030540-583: A zookeeper thought reminded him of the Battle of Berlin . In the 1950s, the United States gave the Soviet Union a younger, female alligator as a gift. She was named Shipka, and she and Saturn began mating, but they did not produce any offspring as all of Shipka’s eggs were infertile. Shipka, who was thirteen years younger than Saturn, later died, and Saturn was so distressed by her death that he refused food for
585-782: Is 360 kg (790 lb) and 4 m (13 ft), but they sometimes grow to 4.4 m (14 ft) long and weigh over 450 kg (990 lb). The largest ever recorded, found in Louisiana, measured 5.84 m (19.2 ft). The Chinese alligator is smaller, rarely exceeding 2.1 m (7 ft) in length. Additionally, it weighs considerably less, with males rarely over 45 kg (100 lb). Adult alligators are black or dark olive-brown with white undersides, while juveniles have bright yellow or whitish stripes which sharply contrast against their dark hides, providing them additional camouflage amongst reeds and wetland grasses. No average lifespan for an alligator has been measured. One of
630-530: Is a crocodile. The Moscow Zoo announced that Saturn had died at the age of 83 or 84 on 22 May 2020. Mississippi alligators usually live 30–50 years in the wild. Saturn may have been the world's oldest alligator, although the title may belong to Muja , a male alligator residing at the Belgrade Zoo who is still alive as of 2024 and is in his 80s. At the time of his death, Saturn was planned be taxidermied, and on 9 December 2020 his remains were placed on display at
675-469: Is a forward movement with the belly making contact with the ground and is used to transition to "high walk" or to slither over wet substrate into water. The high walk is an up-on-four-limbs forward motion used for overland travel with the belly well up from the ground. Alligators have also been observed to rise up and balance on their hind legs and semi-step forward as part of a forward or upward lunge. However, they can not walk on their hind legs. Although
720-505: Is found in only the Yangtze River valley and parts of adjacent provinces and is extremely endangered, with only a few dozen believed to be left in the wild. Far more Chinese alligators live in zoos around the world than can be found in the wild. Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in southern Louisiana has several in captivity in an attempt to preserve the species. Miami MetroZoo in Florida also has
765-619: The American alligator about 33 million years ago and probably descended from a lineage that crossed the Bering land bridge during the Neogene . The modern American alligator is well represented in the fossil record of the Pleistocene . The alligator's full mitochondrial genome was sequenced in the 1990s. The full genome , published in 2014, suggests that the alligator evolved much more slowly than mammals and birds. The genus Alligator belongs to
810-515: The Moscow Zoo . When the alligator arrived there, he instantly became a popular attraction, as there were only two crocodiles at the zoo and no other alligators. His German origins earned him the nickname 'Hitler', but he was later given the name 'Saturn'. When Russian tanks were moving down the Garden Ring during the 1993 constitutional crisis , Saturn cried out because of the vibrations, which
855-475: The Moscow Zoo . He was the subject of an urban myth that he was previously Adolf Hitler 's "pet alligator". After hatching in Mississippi , Saturn was brought to Nazi Germany , residing at the Berlin Zoological Garden . It was here that his association with Adolf Hitler originated, as Hitler reportedly enjoyed visiting the zoo and especially liked the alligator. However, while Hitler may have viewed Saturn at
900-419: The apex predator throughout their distribution. In this role as a top predator, it may determine the abundance of prey species, including turtles and nutrias. As humans encroach into their habitat, attacks are few but not unknown. Alligators, unlike the large crocodiles , do not immediately regard a human upon encounter as prey, but may still attack in self-defense if provoked. Alligators generally mature at
945-484: The crocodile , with minor differences in morphology and enzyme activity. Alligators have a two-part stomach, with the first smaller portion containing gastroliths . It is believed this portion of the stomach serves a similar function as it does in the gizzard of some species of birds, to aid in digestion. The gastroliths work to grind up the meal as alligators will take large bites or swallow smaller prey whole. This process makes digestion and nutrient absorption easier once
SECTION 20
#1732845069030990-816: The subfamily Alligatorinae , which is the sister taxon to Caimaninae (the caimans ). Together, these two subfamilies form the family Alligatoridae . The cladogram below shows the phylogeny of alligators. Caimaninae Ceratosuchus burdoshi † Hassiacosuchus haupti † Navajosuchus mooki † Wannaganosuchus brachymanus † Arambourgia gaudryi † Allognathosuchus polyodon † Allognathosuchus wartheni † Procaimanoidea kayi † Alligator prenasalis † Alligator mcgrewi † Alligator olseni † Alligator sinensis Chinese alligator Alligator thomsoni † Alligator mefferdi † Alligator mississippiensis American alligator An average adult American alligator's weight and length
1035-477: The Berlin Zoo was destroyed. Of the zoo's 16,000 animals, only 96 survived. When the aquarium building was destroyed by a bomb on 23 November 1943, 20 to 30 alligators and crocodiles were killed. Press reports documented that the streets near the aquarium were littered with alligator and crocodile corpses, but that some, including Saturn, had survived and were wandering through the city in search of food. At
1080-406: The alligator has a heavy body and a slow metabolism , it is capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. Alligators' main prey are smaller animals they can kill and eat with a single bite. They may kill larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it into the water to drown. Alligators consume food that cannot be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot or by biting and then performing
1125-536: The animal cannot breathe underwater and to provide calcium for eggshell formation. Alligators have muscular, flat tails that propel them while swimming. The two kinds of white alligators are albino and leucistic . These alligators are practically impossible to find in the wild. They could survive only in captivity and are few in number. The Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans has leucistic alligators found in
1170-781: The animals into attacking. In Florida, feeding wild alligators at any time is illegal. If fed, the alligators will eventually lose their fear of humans and will learn to associate humans with food. The type of food eaten by alligators depends upon their age and size. When young, alligators eat fish, insects, snails , crustaceans , and worms . As they mature, progressively larger prey is taken, including larger fish such as gar , turtles, and various mammals, particularly nutrias and muskrats, as well as birds, deer, and other reptiles. Their stomachs also often contain gizzard stones . They will even consume carrion if they are sufficiently hungry. In some cases, larger alligators are known to ambush dogs, Florida panthers and black bears , making them
1215-447: The case. In actuality, he was not Hitler's personal pet, as he was on public display at the zoo. However, some sources report his display at the zoo as being part of a personal menagerie of Hitler's, while Dmitry Vasilyev, a veterinarian at the Moscow Zoo, contends that while Saturn was not Hitler's pet, the two certainly came into contact, as Hitler was known to have visited the Berlin Zoo on occasion. During World War II , much of
1260-814: The close of the war, the Berlin Zoo area came under the jurisdiction of the British Zone of Occupation . In 1946, British soldiers discovered Saturn, and brought him to Leipzig , then part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation , where they gave Saturn to the Soviets. Because the Moscow tourism office burnt down in the 1950s, the exact details of how Saturn came to Russia are unknown, but the Red Army transported Saturn, along with an Indian python , to Moscow in July 1946, bringing him to live in
1305-401: The control of nutrias and muskrats . Alligator meat is also consumed by humans. While there are rules of thumb for distinguishing alligators from crocodiles, all of them admit exceptions. Such general rules include: Saturn (alligator) Saturn (Russian: Сату́рн , IPA: [sɐˈturn] ; 1936 – 22 May 2020) was an American alligator residing in
1350-459: The food reaches the second portion of the stomach. Once an alligator's meal has been processed it will move on to the second portion of the stomach which is highly acidic. The acidity of the stomach has been observed to increase once digestion begins. This is due to the increase in CO 2 concentration of the blood, resulting from the right to left shunting of the alligators heart. The right to left shunt of
1395-414: The former tend to produce males and the latter, females. The baby alligator's egg tooth helps it get out of its egg during hatching time. The natural sex ratio at hatching is five females to one male. Females hatched from eggs incubated at 30 °C (86 °F) weigh significantly more than males hatched from eggs incubated at 34 °C (93 °F). The mother defends the nest from predators and assists
Gator - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-421: The hatchlings to water. She will provide protection to the young for about a year if they remain in the area. Adult alligators regularly cannibalize younger individuals, though estimates of the rate of cannibalism vary widely. In the past, immediately following the outlawing of alligator hunting , populations rebounded quickly due to the suppressed number of adults preying upon juveniles, increasing survival among
1485-501: The heart in alligators means the circulatory system will recirculate blood through the body instead of back to the lungs. The re-circulation of blood leads to higher CO 2 concentration as well as lower oxygen affinity. There is evidence to suggest that there is increased blood flow diverted to the stomach during digestion to facilitate an increase in CO 2 concentration which aids in increasing gastric acid secretions during digestion. The alligator's metabolism will also increase after
1530-468: The high surface area of the mucosa folds of the intestines, as well as throughout the digestive tract. Benefits include better total health and stronger immune system. However alligators are still vulnerable to microbial infections despite the immune boost from other microbiota. During brumation the process of digestion experiences changes due to the fasting most alligators experience during these periods of inactivity. Alligators that go long enough without
1575-420: The inspired air must move back out the same way it came in. In contrast, air in alligator lungs makes a circuit, moving in only one direction through the parabronchi . The air first enters the outer branch, moves through the parabronchi, and exits the lung through the inner branch. Oxygen exchange takes place in extensive vasculature around the parabronchi. The alligator has a similar digestive system to that of
1620-445: The largest alligator population. The majority of American alligators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. Southern Florida is the only place where both alligators and crocodiles live side by side. American alligators live in freshwater environments, such as ponds , marshes , wetlands , rivers , lakes , and swamps , as well as in brackish water . When they construct alligator holes in
1665-662: The late Eocene epoch about 37 million years ago. The name "alligator" is likely an anglicized form of el lagarto , the Spanish term for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. Early English spellings of the name included allagarta and alagarto . Alligators and caimans split in North America during the early Tertiary or late Cretaceous (about 53 million to about 65 million years ago). The Chinese alligator split from
1710-437: The muscles for opening their jaws are weak. As a result, an adult human can hold an alligator's jaws shut bare-handed. It is common to use several wraps of duct tape to prevent an adult alligator from opening its jaws when being handled or transported. Alligators are generally timid towards humans and tend to walk or swim away if one approaches. This may encourage people to approach alligators and their nests, which can provoke
1755-674: The oldest recorded alligator lives was that of Saturn , an American alligator who was hatched in 1936 in Mississippi and spent nearly a decade in Germany before spending the majority of his life at the Moscow Zoo , where he died at the age of 83 or 84 on 22 May 2020. Another one of the oldest lives on record is that of Muja , an American alligator who was brought as an adult specimen to the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia from Germany in 1937. Although no valid records exist about his date of birth, as of 2012, he
1800-547: The so-called "alligator dances". In summer, the female builds a nest of vegetation where the decomposition of the vegetation provides the heat needed to incubate the eggs. The sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature in the nest and is fixed within seven to 21 days of the start of incubation. Incubation temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F) or lower produce a clutch of females; those of 34 °C (93 °F) or higher produce entirely males. Nests constructed on leaves are hotter than those constructed on wet marsh, so
1845-469: The wetlands, they increase plant diversity and provide habitat for other animals during droughts. They are, therefore, considered an important species for maintaining ecological diversity in wetlands. Farther west, in Louisiana, heavy grazing by nutrias and muskrats is causing severe damage to coastal wetlands. Large alligators feed extensively on nutrias, and provide a vital ecological service by reducing nutria numbers. The Chinese alligator currently
Gator - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-431: The young alligators. Alligators, much like birds, have been shown to exhibit unidirectional movement of air through their lungs. Most other amniotes are believed to exhibit bidirectional, or tidal breathing. For a tidal breathing animal, such as a mammal, air flows into and out of the lungs through branching bronchi which terminate in small dead-end chambers called alveoli . As the alveoli represent dead-ends to flow,
1935-441: The zoo, he was never Hitler's personal pet. During World War II , the Berlin Zoo was destroyed, but Saturn was discovered by British soldiers three years later. The British then gave the alligator to the Soviets in 1946. He lived at the Moscow Zoo until 22 May 2020, when he died of old age. Saturn was described as having been 2 to 3.5 meters long, and weighed 200 kilograms (441 pounds). Like most alligators, he had green scales,
1980-480: Was generally peaceful. His only violent incident occurred in 1970, when he tried to bite an inexperienced warden who tried to feed him by hand. In 2015, the Moscow Zoo renovated the Terrarium, where the alligator enclosure is located. A new interior and reconstructed enclosure were completed, and Saturn returned to public display. That year, Saturn was also sponsored by French clothing company Lacoste , whose logo
2025-494: Was in his 80s and possibly the oldest alligator living in captivity. Alligators are native only to the United States and China . American alligators are found in the southeast United States : all of Florida and Louisiana ; the southern parts of Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi ; coastal South and North Carolina ; East Texas , the southeast corner of Oklahoma , and the southern tip of Arkansas . Louisiana has
#29970