16 The Alligator and Its Allies 



Ditmars thus describes the fate of a dog that 

 approached too near a very large alligator: "As 

 a dog, weighing about fifty pounds, unwarily ap- 

 proached the edge of this creature's tank, it was 

 suddenly grasped and before completing its first 

 yelp of terror was dragged beneath the surface. A 

 few minutes later the twelve-foot saurian appeared 

 at the top, holding the dead canine in its jaws. 

 The dog was shifted about, amid the sound of 

 breaking bones, and swallowed head first, and 

 entire, after a few gulps." 



Size and Growth. Although, years ago, alligators 

 of fifteen feet length may have been common in 

 favorable localities in the South, it is probable 

 that few if any such monsters now exist. A 

 twelve-foot alligator, owing to its great girth, is a 

 huge animal and but few of this size are to be 

 found in captivity. The largest specimen the 

 writer has ever seen is the one in the Bronx 

 Zoo, which is barely thirteen feet in length. At 

 hatching the alligator is about eight inches in 

 length. 



Clarke (17) says: "The largest specimen I saw 

 measured twelve feet in length; and none of the 

 many hunters and natives of Florida I have met 

 have seen any longer than thirteen feet. All the 

 hunters agree that it is only the males that acquire 

 the great size; no one had ever seen a female that 

 measured over eight feet, and the majority are not 

 over seven. The male has a heavier, more power- 



