When my mom was a young girl living in Watrous, Saskatchewan, Canada, she had a pet alligator which she called “Alli.” “Alli” was quite affectionate and loved to have his soft throat and tummy rubbed by my mom's nose. However, he was a creature of strict habit and did not like change of time or routine. One night mom went to the movies, I believe that it was the movie “The 10 Commandments” which started at 7:00 PM. Because of the early start time, mom didn't clean “Alli's” tank or feed him. When she got home just after 10:00 PM, she picked up “Alli” and rubbed her nose on his throat and tummy as usual, while her mother cleaned “Alli's” tank and put his food and fresh water in. After mom put “Alli” back in his tank so he could eat, she turned toward her mother who asked her why she had blood all over her nose. Mom went to look in the bathroom mirror and discovered a circle of fine holes in the end of her nose. Because his routine had been upset, “Alli” bit her with his razor sharp teeth. Since his teeth were so sharp, she didn't even feel them going into her nose. Mom had “Alli” for several years, but he became too big for the tank he was in. Since her family didn't have enough money to buy a bigger tank, she had to find a new home for “Alli.” The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon offered to give him a home in their Biology Department. “Alli” didn't like his new home because he did not get personal attention, so he stopped eating. Within a month of moving to the University, “Alli” died. The professor in charge of the Biology Department said that it was the first time that he had ever seen a reptile die of home sickness and that as a result, it gave him a whole new perspective on the personalities of reptiles.
Alligators are one of the most dangerous of the unusual pets. It is a crocodilian, which comes from the family of Alligatoridae. The name was derived from Anglicization of a Spanish word, “el lagarto” (the lizard) which was used by Spanish explorers who settled in Florida, U.S.A. Alligators are found mostly in America and China.
There are two species of alligators, Alligator Mississippienis or the American Alligator and Alligator Sinensis or the Chinese Alligator. The American alligator weights around eight hundred pounds and is up to thirteen feet long. The record for the longest alligator, which was found in Louisiana, is nineteen feet two inches. In comparison, Chinese alligators rarely grow more than seven feet and their average size is five feet. Alligators can live for more than fifty years. The oldest known alligator, housed at the Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, was seventy years old when it died.
There are many features of alligators that distinguish them from crocodiles and both of them belong to different taxonomic families. Alligators have a broader snout and their eyes are located near the upper side of their head. When light is flashed over the eyes, bigger alligators have a red glow and smaller alligators have a green glow. This can be of help, when searching for alligators in the dark. When looking in daylight, alligators have brown eyes and crocodiles have green eyes.
When alligators close their jaws, only the upper teeth are visible, however, when crocodiles, close their jaws, the upper as well as the lower teeth are visible. The shape of an alligator’s mouth is rounded like a “U” and that of the crocodile is more pointed, like a “V.” Although both of the animals have a dark hide, almost black, the color of individual animals depends on their habitat. Alligators living in water with a heavy algae growth are greenish black. Alligators living in waters with high tannic acid, released from hanging trees, have a darker hide.
Alligators can eat anything they can find, because of the gastroliths (stomach stones) present in their stomach. Young alligators feed on crustaceans, fish, snails, and insects. As they grow, so does their need for larger prey. Bigger alligators feed on turtles, larger fish, birds and other reptiles and mammals. They even eat deer, razorbacks, small alligators and the carcasses of dead animals when they are extremely hungry. A few attacks on humans have also been reported, but the number is on the rise. People get overconfident about this fact and enter alligator habitats without much care, resulting in provoking their aggression. In spite of their aggressive nature, alligators do not immediately attack humans, like crocodiles do. In the last couple of decades, the American Alligator has battled with a new, non native predator, the Burmese Python. Numerous alligator carcasses have been discovered in the stomachs of these invaders. It is not yet known what impact these new predators will have on the wild alligator population, as the alligators also dine on python when they win these deadly battles.
The alligator farming industry is rapidly rising in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The purpose of such farms is to get alligator hides and nearly forty-five thousand hides are obtained annually from these farms. The hides are very expensive and a seven-foot hide sells for as much as $300, but the prices vary every year, depending on the demand. Alligator meat is also increasing in demand, with approximately three hundred thousand pounds consumed every year.
Alligators are now protected and regulated animals. Special procedures and permits are required to get legal custody of an alligator. Usually baby alligators can be bought in Florida. Owners are given a special license and must be aware of their responsibilities. It’s against the law in many states to remove an alligator from its natural habitat. Alligator pets should be provided with a large and wet habitat to live in, similar to the subtropical climate they come from.
Alligators occasionally get aggressive and dangerous at times, usually during breading season, which can prove fatal to people if proper precautions are not taken. Owners of pet alligators should be prepared as their pet can grow to more than twelve feet in length. Unfortunately, some owners panic when their pet alligator starts getting bigger and decide to set it free in an area near their home. This can be extremely dangerous to residents of that locality, because the animal has lost its natural fear of humans and will frequently attack. A few years ago, near the end of a warm summer, the police in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan received a call from a citizen that there was a six-foot alligator chasing joggers on the path along the South Saskatchewan River near the Mendel Art Gallery. A patrol car was dispatched, even though the dispatcher thought the call was a hoax, because alligators usually don’t exist in Saskatchewan. When the police officer walked into the area, he saw the alligator basking in the sun on the lawn of the Art Gallery. He walked up to it and poked it with his baton. The alligator spun around quickly and bit the baton in half. The officer jumped back and called for assistance. The alligator was eventually captured and shipped to a zoo. Authorities surmised that someone had released a pet alligator into the river in the Spring and it had grown much larger over the summer from a good diet of fish, ducks, geese and the occasional wandering pet. So, when a decision is made to adopt an alligator as a pet, the owner should realize that it is a lifetime commitment. Turning alligators loose in areas where they are not expected can result in serious and often tragic results.
Until next time,
Teia
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