- Alligator Alley | Winter is Coming…To Alligator Alley
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Are alligators active in novemberWhat do Lowcountry alligators do in the winter? | The Seattle Times
That is, they react to a cold environment by slowing their metabolic activity, but certainly not to the deep torpor of true hibernation. Alligators are reptiles and are not warm-blooded.
It was a cold, sunny day. There were no leaves on the trees, and very little green on vegetation on the ground. I was wearing a stocking hat and a warm coat. As I was leaving, I saw a pond and wanted a photograph.
It might be true for some states. In Florida, however, just about every day of the year is filled with endless gator action. Because Florida has a year-round tropical climate, every season has prime opportunities to see gators on the shore and in the water.
Cooler weather has finally arrived on the Gulf Coast and our team here at Alligator Alley has been busy making sure our scaly friends are happy, healthy and comfortable over the next few months. Alligators are ectothermic or cold-blooded and play an active role in maintaining their own body temperature.
If their internal body temperature drops below 55 degrees, they physically cannot breakdown or metabolize food. So, where are all the gators in late Autumn and Winter? Alligators tend to stop feeding when the temperature drops below 70 degrees and become dormant at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. They, as reptiles, can slow their metabolism down and become very lethargic, just like humans around the holidays as well.
Alligators eat less, while their mammal counterparts in nature especially humans tend to eat more during colder months. Contrary to popular belief, alligators do not hibernate; they brumate. Reptiles do not enter a state of hibernation, but rather one of brumation. Like the creepy reptiles that they are, they can still move in this state of brumation and are very much aware of their surroundings. Often, gators will brumate on the bottom of a bayou or swamp and resurface once a day just to breathe.
Alligator hunting season ended in October. So, hunting alligators may be out of the question at this time of year. However, that means that some of your favorite restaurants will now be serving blackened or fried alligator.
They are not believed to be a significant problem for wild alligators. Alligators occur from southeast Oklahoma and east Texas on the western side of their range to North Carolina and Florida in the east. They prefer fresh water lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, but they also can be found in brackish water habitats.
Alligators are ectothermic -- they rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature. Alligators control their body temperature by basking in the sun, or moving to areas with warmer or cooler air or water temperatures. Alligators are dormant throughout much of the winter season. During this time, they can be found in burrows or "dens" that they construct adjacent to an alligator hole or open water, but they occasionally emerge to bask in the sun during spells of warm weather.
The article at this link contains information about thermoregulation in Everglades alligators. The most recent evidence indicates that crocodilians which includes alligators and dinosaurs evolved from a common ancestor that existed subsequent to the common ancestor that they share with other reptiles. So, even though alligators are classified as reptiles along with lizards, snakes, and turtles, they are actually more closely related to birds, whose direct ancestors were dinosaurs!
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