Within
South Carolina, United States
(Alligator
mississipiensis)
The American Alligator is a large reptile that resembles a lizard. It is a blackish color with a broad, rounded snout. When young, the American Alligator has yellow cross bands that may last until adulthood. They are generally no larger than four meters, but unusual cases in South Carolina
have measured them up to more than 13 feet. Their body is armored with embedded bony plates called osteoderms. An American Alligator can live up to fifty years at which time it will begin to lose teeth and show signs of senility. Adult alligators usually *American Alligator*
feed on fish and smaller reptiles, but they do occasionally eat birds and mammals up to the size of a deer. Juvenile alligators eat insects and small fish. Rarely do they rely on eating amphibians and small mammals.
Within South Carolina, the American Alligator is active year-round, but most active in the warmer months. The American Alligators "courtship" season begins in April with the actual mating happening in May. A female alligator will generally lay from twenty to sixty hard-shelled, white eggs. She will place them in a nest of rotting vegetation to help incubate the eggs. The temperature of this nest will determine the sex of the young. If the nest is below thirty degrees Celsius all of the young will be females, but if the nest is above thirty-four degrees Celsius all will be males.
In South Carolina, the American Alligator is found in fresh and brackish marshes, ponds, rivers, and swamps. They are found only in the coastal regions of the state, but rare cases have shown American Alligators as far north as Pickens County. These alligators are thought of to be transplants by people.
In the mid-1960s the American Alligator's population dropped to a low in South Carolina because the alligators were being hunted primarily for their *Distribution of American Alligator*
skins, but also for their meat. The population right now is one million or more. These population numbers show that the American Alligator is no longer on the Endangered Species List. It was removed in 1987, due to conservation efforts and management efforts. In 1995 the state passed a law restricting the killing of and selling of alligators in South Carolina. The American Alligator is still federally listed as threatened because of its similarities to the American Crocodile, a species close to extinction.
Works Cited
Cummings, Candace. A Guide to South Carolina's Endangered and Threatened Species. Clemson University, Clemson. 1996. pp.32.
Maloney, Jon. "American Alligator 3." Online. Available http://members.carol.net/~jmaloney/animal48.htm
, May 16, 2000.
Nature Serve. "Alligator mississipiensis." Online. Available http://www.natureserve.org/index.htm
, November 29,2000.
Thieben, Sara. "American Alligator." Online. Available http://www.scwf.org/news-current/endangered-0800.htm
, December,2000.
University of Michigan. "Alligator mississipiensis ." Online. Available http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/alligators/a._ mississipiensis
, May 2000.
Woodward, Alan. "American Alligator." Online. Available http://www.iflas.ufl.edu/AgriGator/gators/gator54w.htm
,September, 2000.
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