Alligators

Main cameras

Side cameras

Information

Zoo

St. Augustine's Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Type of aviary

Imitation of the natural environment

Habitat

Southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico

Type of food

Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals

Population in the world

600

About species

The name "alligator" is probably an anglicized form of el lagarto, the Spanish term for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator.

Interesting Facts

  • It is one of two extant species in the genius Alligator within the family Alligatoridae; it is larger than the only other living alligator species, the Chinese alligator.
  • Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.6 m in length, and can weigh up to 453 kg . Females are smaller, measuring 2.6 to 3 m in length.
  • Young are born with yellow bands around their bodies and are protected by their mother for up to one year.
  • American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
  • The teeth number 74–80.
  • The American alligator was first classified by French zoologist François Marie Daudin as Crocodilus mississipiensis in 1801.