Talk about a blast from the past! Do you know how old alligators are? Alligators are more than 150 million years old and came from the time of the dinosaurs. It is definitely a wonderful sight to see such an old creature from the ages, especially down in South Florida, where the creature resides. So get a "bite" onto these alligator facts.
Description
The American alligator, the largest reptile in North America, is commonly confused with the crocodile; but these two members of the family Crocodylia have many differences. The alligator has a U-shaped snout and black-gray in color. Unlike crocodiles, their upper teeth are easily seen when its mouth is closed. They grow up to almost feet long and weigh half a ton!
Behavior
A congregation of alligators
Alligators live in groups called congregations, but the males are solitary, territorial animals and will defend their territory. The large males
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Today, alligators face threats, such as habitat loss, hunting, and climate change. Earlier, they were hunted for their hide for leather goods and their meat. The alligators freshwater habitat mixes with saltwater due to climate change. What is being done to save these animals from extinction? In some states, hunting is allowed, but the laws strongly control it.
Fun Facts
Here are some interesting facts about the American alligator:
American alligators can go through 3,000 teeth throughout their lifetime.
American alligators are not your average carnivores. They will also eat fruits.
The gender of an alligator depends on the temperature. Eggs that are exposed to temperatures above 90°F develop into males and those at 86°F develop into females.
The American alligator became the state reptile of Florida in 1987.
The majority of the American alligator's population lives in Florida and Louisiana. About 1.25 million American alligators live throughout
Other large non-native snakes— such as the common boa (Boa constrictor), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), and reticulated python (Python reticulatus)—have been observed in the wild in South Florida, but only Burmese pythons and common boas are known to be breeding. Burmese pythons were first reported as established in Everglades National Park (ENP) by Meshaka, based in part on specimens collected on the Main Park Road in the mid-1990s. Since then, the number of Burmese pythons captured or found dead in and around ENP has dramatically increased. From 2002 - 2005, 201 pythons were captured and removed or found dead.
Within the state of Florida there are dozens of individualized, non-profit organizations making an effort to help the local wildlife. The local land and marine wildlife includes birds, geckos, frogs, snakes, panthers, manatees, sea turtles, fishes, sharks, corals, lizards and many, many more. Florida State is located on the Southeastern tip of the United States providing a unique opportunity for conservation of salt-water animals. While there are animal conservation efforts taking place all over the world, this essay will focus on two animal species that humans are specifically trying to save in Florida State. The two main animal species of focus are manatees and sea turtles.
SSSSS!! "There's a snake!" Welcome to the most fascinating place in the world, the Florida everglades.It's values are very important , it helps the plants ad animals have habitats, food, and places to live.It also helps lots of humans in Florida with water supplies.
Levin, T. (1998, June/July). Listening to wildlife in the Everglades. National Wildlife, 36, 20- 31. McCally, D. (1999). The Everglades: An Environmental History. Gainsville: University Press of Florida.
The Everglades is a diverse ecosystem located in southern Florida, yet urbanization has created a considerable amount of impact that has altered the physical landscape of the region, resulting in a symbiotic environment between humans and nature. Based on geographical research, the original Everglades spanned an area of approximately 12,000km2, and now because of urbanization and agricultural growth in this sub-region the area of the Everglades has been condensed to half of its original size (Willard et al 1-2). The Everglades is actually a sub-region of the Southern Coastlands region of the United States. It is comprised of a unique climate, divided into sub-provinces that create a diverse pallet of environments for wildlife to thrive, yet the impact of human modifications over a period of decades has drastically effected animal populations, and changed the functionality and physical landscape of its expanse. Despite the differences of urbanization and wildlife, major cities and the ecosystem of the Everglades thrive and fuse together to form the diversely changing landscape of the modern Everglades.
Did you know that it would take an estimated 1 billion dollars to restore the Everglades? The Everglades National Park is a wetland with grass, marshes, and hardwood hammocks on the southern part of Florida. The U.S. “Army Corps of Engineers” and many other groups are trying to find a way to fix the water supply in the Everglades. Not only does it have an effect on humans it also has an effect on animals.
Protecting the Everglades is as easy as spreading the word. Tell friends about the concerns you may have, tell them what they can do to help. Contact environmentally active organizations for more information. Be sure to keep these environmental issues in mind when voting, and go ahead and make your concerns known to your legislature. Try your hardest to make a difference!
The Florida Manatee’s popular marine species in the tropical environment of Florida are currently considered an “endangered species”. The ecology (the relationships between living organisms and their interactions with their natural or developed environment), for the manatee (trichechus manatus), requires and is generally restricted to the inland and coastal waters of peninsular Florida during the winter, when they shelter in and/or near warm-water springs, heated industrial effluents, and other warm water sites (as stated in Research Gate (1997) Hartman 1979, Lefebvre et al). The Florida (West Indian) Manatee, An Endangered Species, has no known predators other than humans; in the past, humans hunted
In the Everglades there are a variety of different animals and species that seem to be able to thrive in the same habitat. The truth is that due to elevation differences, and therefore differences in the water level, the Everglades is really an area of interconnecting, but different habitats. One of the more important habitat areas is actually created by one of the Everglades most famous inhabitants – the alligator. The alligators move in and out of holes (depressions) in the limestone described above. By doing this they keep this area lower than the rest ...
The Everglades has been a foundational part of Florida ever since it was discovered. Its swamps have taken hold of the bottom quadrant of the Florida peninsula with its majestic swamps and exotic wildlife within. However, with Florida's population growth since the turn of the twenty-first century, the Everglades has been threatened by man (Everglades). The Everglades has sustained substantial damage due to over-drainage, runoff of nutrient pollutants, like phosphorus, and the spreading of algae and other plants that upset the ecosystem of the swamp. A greater amount of restoration must be done in the Everglades, otherwise, the whole ecosystem of the swamp could be destroyed.
Reptiles, one the most widely spread animal group throughout the world. They can live almost everywhere because they adapt so well. Reptiles also come in a lot of shapes, sizes and colors. So let's explore the wonder of these scaly creatures.
There is a urban legend among New Yorkers that people would bring home baby alligators from Florida as pets. The only issue with that is that when these alligators grew up they would be 500 pounds or more and very violent. People decided the best idea to handle these alligators would be to released them into the sewer where they could live happily. These gators learned to live in the wet sewer system in Manhattan and begun to mate to produce many giant, albino alligators. Their descendants are living down there to this day and do not get seen unless there is a encounter with a alligator and a sewer worker.
Most people believe that all Alligators and crocodiles live in the Everglades region in Florida, as it is a really well-known place for each to reside, but they do not even live next to one another in most instances. The environment that alligators and crocodiles live in is very
The remains of these dinosaurs were found on every continent except Antarctica thus proving that they were very widespread. Sauropods had the most long lived life span when compared to other animals. Their existence expanded up to 100 million years. This was a very long time, especially for such a large animal to maintain itself (Klein, 2011). However, after many years, they began to die one by one due to the challenges that presented themselves in the wild. For example, vegetation became scarce. They began to starve and became an easier prey to predators. Eventually, this led to
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a very smart and interesting dinosaur and it is unfortunate that we will never be able to see one. The extinction of dinosaurs was brought on by the Alvarez Theory. It is great to know what actually happened to them now, and also know how to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. If our country uses the technology it has available it will be possible to find out more about the mass extinction of the Crustaceous Period. As the years pass technology becomes more advanced and we will eventually know everything there is to know about what happened sixty five million years ago.