46 THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 



around its jaws, and with a couple of half hitches the alli- 

 gator is entirely harmless, providing one keeps out of the 

 way of its tail. 



When an alligator catches a large animal that is too 

 large to be killed by crushing it in its jaws, it immediately 

 starts rolling. The roll is accomplished by throwing its 

 tail up and sidewise and turning its body at the same time 

 and in the same direction that it twists its tail, holding 

 its feet folded backwards against its sides; this twisting and 

 rolling is done with great power, and the animal grasped 

 in its jaws is violently thrashed about until it is quite dead. 

 If an alligator catches an animal that is too large to be 

 swallowed whole, it crushes the leg bones close to the body 

 in its powerful jaws, and then by twisting, rolling and shak- 

 ing, tears the member loose from the body when it can be 

 easily swallowed. It is generally supposed alligators will 

 not swallow food under the water; this is a mistake, how- 

 ever, as I have often seen alligators catch birds, fish and 

 small animals and sink with them, swallowing the food 

 while under the water. My observations are that an alli- 

 gator can and will swallow while under water, food small 

 enough to be swallowed without opening its mouth. If the 

 food must be chewed, which necessitates opening its jaws, 

 the head is always raised above the water. I have, on 

 numerous occasions, when fishing on the bottom for large 

 salt-water fish, using large baits, either fish or crab, had 

 alligators swallow bait and hook, and for a few minutes 

 they put up a hard fight when hooked on a fish line. That 

 alligators sometimes hunt their food on the bottom of 

 streams and ponds has been proven to me by seeing alli- 

 gators that had not before been in view, rise to the surface 

 with large water snakes, turtles or crabs in their mouths* 

 which were killed and swallowed above the water's surface. 

 An examination of a number of alligators taken in the 

 central part of the State, from above the tide flow, con- 

 tained only fish, snakes and turtles, and in one instance an 



