RANGE
Southern United States and Central America

HABITAT
Freshwater lakes, rivers, swamps and wetland areas

SIZE
Males: 15 feet, 1000 pounds.
Females: 10 feet, 300 pounds.

LIFE EXPECTANCY
Wild: 35 – 50 years
Captivity: 60 – 100 years

DIET
Carnivore
Wild Juvenile: small invertebrates such as insects, small fish, and frogs
Wild Adult: opportunistic feeders; anything within range, including carrion
Zoo: Juveniles eat mice, adults eat rats

REPRODUCTION

• Mate in open water
• Males roar during mating season
• Females build nest in muddy vegetation
• Females lay 30 – 70 eggs one week after mating
• Eggs hatch after two months
• Females protect young for up to two years after hatching

BEHAVIOR

• Females are very territorial
• Hunt prey from underwater

POINTS OF INTEREST

• Crocodilians traced back 230 million years
• Official state reptile of Florida
• Temperature of the nest determines the sex of the young
• Approximately 80 teeth that replace themselves. May have as many as 3,000 teeth in their lifetime.
• Construct burrows and hibernate during cooler months
• Do not feed during cooler months

STATUS
Threatened: one of very few species taken off the endangered list

SPECIFIC TO WHITE ALLIGATOR

• Not all white alligators are albino. Albinos have red eyes. Other type has blue eyes.
• Ours, King Louie, is an albino
• Cannot survive in the wild due to lack of camouflage
• Considered a symbol of extraordinarily good luck by Eastern mythology