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Alligator
Colouration.—Young alligators are black or very dark brown, with bright yellow cross-bands. The yellow markings fade with maturity and large specimens are uniformly black or dull gray. They may show traces of pale, but dull blotches on the sides.
Dimensions.—Very large alligators are so rare nowadays that a specimen twelve feet long must be considered a giant. There was a time in Florida--long since gone--when alligators fourteen and fifteen feet long were of no great rarity. The writer doubts if there is an individual living in Florida to-day that can approach such measurements, and he believes there are but few twelve-foot specimens left. It is his conviction that the finest living example of what a patriach "bull 'gator" should be, is the enormous specimen now in the New York Zoological Park--"Old Mose." This individual barely misses a measurement of thirteen feet and its massive frame suggests the outlines of a hippopotamus. It can swallow eight pound chickens entire, and at a single gulp.
Distribution.—Rivers and swamps of the low, coastal region, from North Carolina, throughout Florida, and westward to the Rio Grande, in Texas.
Habits.—The alligator is becoming rare in most portions of the South and extermination is not far distant. Many circumstances handicap the reptile in its battle for existence against mankind. Large and readily discernible, the sight of an alligator from a river steamer is usually the signal for a fusillade of lead, and the old theory that the reptile's plated skin is proof against a bullet, no longer holds good. A ball from a modern rifle or a good revolver, will easily penetrate the tough hide of an alligator and produce a mortal wound. But it is not alone for purposes of diversion that this inoffensive species is so generally slaughtered. The commercial value of the hide has been an important factor in the thinning of its numbers. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, says: (Bulletin, U. S. Fish Commission, XI, 1891, p. 343.) "It is estimated that 2,500,000 were killed in Florida between 1880 and 1894. Thus does the destruction go on. Moreover, the female alligator constructs a nest that forms a prominent object and renders the eggs at the mercy of vandals. The eggs are eaten in many portions of the South and the search for nests at the proper season, furnishes profitable employment for many persons, as each nest contains a large number of eggs. Young alligators, that have succeeded in making their entry to the world, frequent the shallow waters to avoid falling prey to large fish and turtles. In such places they are easily captured. They are sold to curio dealers, thence to tourists from the North who carry them away to endure a slow death from starvation.
It is not necessary to describe this very familiar reptile be-beyond comparing it structurally to the other Crocodilians inhabiting the United States.
The most striking difference between the two species is in the outlines of the head. The head of the Alligator is very broad, and is bluntly rounded at the snout; that of the crocodile is narrow, gradually tapering toward the snout so that the conformation of the head might be explained as pointed. The Alligator is altogether a stouter species than the crocodile and its tail is not vertically flattened to such an extent as that of the other species. An Alligator weighs about one-third more than a crocodile--the difference being made up by the more massive skull and the stouter body.
There is an albinistic specimen living in the New York Zoological Park. The greater portion of this animal is yellowish white, although there are black patches scattered over the entire body.
Another fine specimen in the reptile house of the same Park, shows the following measurements:
Total Length. . . . . 11 feet, 5 1/2 inches.
Length of Head. . . . . 2 feet, 4 1/2 inches.
Length of Tail. . . . . 5 feet, 11 3/4 inches.
Estimated Weight. . . . . 450 pounds.
It should not be taken for granted, however, that an alligator must attain such dimensions before reaching maturity. The writer has noted several female specimens less than nine feet long, that laid large numbers of eggs; one of these was a South Carolina specimen; she was less than eight feet in length and deposited 37 eggs.
Growth of the Alligator.--It is a generally mistaken idea that the growth of the alligator is very slow. Actual conditions are much to the contrary. While it may take an alligator longer to attain maturity than a lizard or a snake, the wild saurian easily reaches an adult development within five or six years. As an illustration of the alleged tardy growth of the species, the writer quotes from Prof. E. D. Cope's technical work on the crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America; at the end of the description of the alligator is a portion of an article by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, of the United States Fish Commission; this reads, in part: "Alligators grow very slowly. At fifteen years of age they are only two feet long. A twelve-footer may be reasonably supposed to be seventy-five years old."