photo credit:J.D. Willson and David Scott

Description: 6-16.5 ft (1.8-5m)  The coloration of adults is blackish brown.  Juveniles have yellow crossbars on the back and some tail markings.
Range/Habitat: This species is found in coastal southeastern North Carolina. They are usually seen in large streams, canals, ponds, lakes, marshes, swamps, and tidal estuaries.
Habits:  Alligators are diurnal and nocturnal.  They live in large holes called dens, which provide protection from harsh conditions.  Alligators usually bask in the spring and summer outside of their dens.
Reproduction: Alligators breed from mid-May to late September. Later in the summer females lay around 30 eggs in a large mound of vegetation usually near the water around trees.  Decay of organic material in this "nest" helps warm the eggs and protects them from predators.  Females guard the nest and care for the young up to three years after hatching and sometimes even longer.
Prey: Alligators have a wide, varied diet but tend to mainly feed on turtles, snakes, small mammals, crayfish, birds, mammals, and frogs.
Alligator spotting techniques:  Watch for eyes, head or snout protruding from water surface.  Also, use a flashlight at night to shine on the water in order to locate an alligator by its glowing red-orange eyes.
Status:  Federally protected.  American alligator populations were in decline until the 1980 because of poaching for their hides and habitat destruction. Populations have now recovered.

	Range of the American Alligator in the Carolinas and Virginia	Alligator nest in a wetland