Informative Essay On Alligator

The american alligator are mainly found in the United States, North Carolina, to Rio Grande in Texas. They eat fish, turtles, various mammals, birds, and other reptiles. The american alligator are mostly found in freshwater, slow and easy rivers, swamps, marshes, and lakes. Their prey is fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals. Their predators are bobcats and raccoons. Clearly, this is the american alligator's habitat and diet.

Andrew Ng, author of, “Florida’s Python Hunt”, quoted this from the article, “This means that for 30 days, hundreds of people armed with shotguns, rifles, machetes, handguns, and hooked spears- many who have never seen a Burmese python- will roam the Florida Everglades in search of the coveted snakes.” There is going to be people that have never ever seen a Burmese python before, so they could accidentally shoot people that may look a little bit like a snake, and they could shoot small animals and other snakes that have nothing to do with the Burmese pythons.

(Bonus: I personally love the following description of Alligator, it's probably my favorite part of any of the three stories, "He sometimes makes friends with strangers. He hates snakes and has killed

According to the Smithsonian Zoological Park one of the features that makes American Alligators unique is “The large fourth tooth in the lower jaw of an alligator which fits into a socket in the upper jaw and is not visible when the mouth is closed.” As the teeth of the American Alligator wear down they get replaced which can lead to replacing their teeth over 2,000 times in their lives. The American Alligator has nostrils that stick up further than the rest of the snout, this is so they can breathe while the rest of their body is under water. The eyes of the American Alligator consist of upper and lower eyelids that protect them. They have a third eyelid, which protects its eyes when they swim underwater. Alligator eyes have also developed to see in the dark by reflecting light back into its own eyes.

Some female reptiles will guard the eggs they lay, and others will not, but egg guarding is about as far as parental care typically goes. Alligator mississippiensis is one of the rare exceptions to this common reptilian trend. Gravid female alligators will build nests, lay the eggs, and protect them from possible predators. When presented with a possible threat to her clutch, the female will hiss, or lunge at the perceived predator (Kushlan, 1973). Come hatching time, she may open the nest or help the juveniles out of their eggs, and carry them in her mouth to the water (Passek, 1999). In some cases, males have assisted the hatching of the offspring by breaking open the eggs, similar to the female. According to Passek, hatchlings communicate with each other while still in the eggs by using vocalizations. When hatched, these vocalizations are calls that alert the mother to possible distress.

One misty morning in 2003, deep under the cover of the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, a group of tourists set out for a day of exploration in the Everglades. They hoped to see some of the diverse and unique species that the Everglades are famous for, and maybe snap a few cool pictures to show their friends. They could never have anticipated what they would actually discover. A short way into their trek, the party was drawn to a noisy struggle nearby. They followed their ears to a duel between an alligator and a huge Burmese Python. The alligator clamped his jaws around the snake. The snake wrapped its body around the alligator. The tourists

In January 2013 in an effort to curb the python problem Florida began it’s very first ever python hunt. Thousands of hopeful hunters have signed up for a month long challenge where prizes for the longest snake and others are up for grabs. People from around the country have slithered their way to Florida in hopes of bagging a Burmese python or two. As of January 25th

Although, the Everglades is a very special and cool place. But there are way too many pythons there and we need a way to get them out, because it’s hurting the entire place. Pythons are causing huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and many more animals. The python has no natural predators meaning they are wiping out many important animals. According to source 2, “With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” Florida’s natural climate is very hot and humid which makes it harder to get those snakes out of here. According to source 1, “Burmese pythons are carnivores and survived primarily on small birds and mammals.” Another thing that horrible is that the population keeps growing and growing and it’s dangerous for us and animals also the everglades. Sadly, the everglades is changing rapidly and it’s not good. Now that you know about what’s happening to Florida and the everglades. Are you sacred yet?

As it thrashes its body from side to side, it creates a small hole filled with water. Plant matter and mud piled up around the edges of the hole create dry ground on which other plants eventually grow. After many years, grass, trees, and other plants surround these "gator holes" like fences. Gator holes are important to other species as well. As the water becomes scarce during the dry season, many animals search for food and remaining pockets of water. The gator holes attract crayfish, frogs, turtles, fish, and other aquatic species, all seeking refuge in the deeper waters of the gator holes. Muskrats, otters, deer, and raccoons, as well as a wide variety of beautiful birds, such as ibises, egrets, and herons, visit these sanctuaries to feed on the small animals that can be found there. Because alligators and the watery hollows they make play such an important role in the Everglades ecosystem, they are considered to be a keystone species since many other species depend upon them for their survival. This has earned them the nickname "keepers of the glades."

Taking over with no natural predator, the Burmese Python. These very large pythons have been effecting our Everglades drastically. Once native to the swampy marshes of Southeast Asia, these snakes are now migrating over to Florida. Being so large and having no natural predator, they have really made a strong change in our Florida wildlife. These dangerous pythons have altered the population of animals in the Everglades by so much that people are beginning to worry about what will happen next. The snakes didn’t get there on their own, but now we don’t have any way of stopping them.

Since these pythons have such a variety in their palette they can be a huge threat to the wildlife within the Everglades, possibly wiping out a group of animals when there are a team of the dangerous pythons. Another piece of evidence to back up my reasoning is also stated in "Pythons Invade the Florida Everglades" , it states, "Studies have shown that since their appearance in the Everglades, the numbers of small mammals in the area are down significantly." This evidence shows that there is a definite and proven decrease of some species due to the Burmese pythons entering the Everglades. With the Burmese pythons still in the wetlands more and more animals, big and small, are slowly being eaten because of these dangerous

A big problem with releasing pythons and anacondas into the Everglades is that if there becomes so many of them that it disrupts the food web. So if the rabbit eats grass and a smaller snake eats the rabbit then a gator eats then small snake then

Also according to the Florida’s python hunt newspaper, “Many pets turned loose by their owners when they become too big- threatening the Florida Everglades,”. If people keep letting their snakes go into the Everglades they will overpopulate and spread all over. This leads to the mass spreading as mentioned in paragraph 3. People release these snakes because they never researched how big they are and will get, so they get surprised when the snake gets to be too big, and they can’t take care of it. People could just donate the snake to a zoo or animal sanctuary, which would take good care of them. People also need to do their research before getting an animal first

Pythons have been making the Everglades their home even though their unwanted visitors. Florida isn't a natural habitat for pythons or anacondas . So the way they have survived has been messing with the natural food chain . As said here from the article Are the Everglades Forever? , second page 1st paragraph it states "They’ve managed to upset the natural food chain so drastically …...". The snakes have been decreasing the number of rabbits , bobcats, opossums, and foxes. So they have come to competition with gators for food . Sometimes the gator becomes the meal. By things like this taking place they are taking a negative toll on the balance of food or the food chain in the Everglades .

Biologists with Everglades National Park confirmed a breeding population of Burmese python in the Florida Everglades in 2013, presumably the result of released pets.