VOL. 48 1907 
SMITHSONIAN 
MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 
VOL. Ill QUARTERLY ISSUE PART 4 
THE BREEDING HABITS OF THE FLORIDA ALLIGATOR 
By ALBERT M, KEESE, 
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY. 
While collecting material with which to study the development of 
the alligator, I have had the opportunity, during parts of three 
summers, to study, at first hand, the habits of this interesting reptile. 
The first occasion was in 1901, when I went into the Everglades to 
the west of Palm Beach, Florida: this expedition was undertaken 
partially under the auspices of the Elizabeth Thompson Science 
_ Fund, and was unfortunately cut short before much could be accom- 
plished. The second trip was in the summer of 1905, under the 
auspices of the Smithsonian Institution: six weeks were spent among 
the small lakes and sloughs of central Florida, far from the usual 
haunts of tourists and hunters. During this time nearly one thou- 
sand alligator eggs were collected, and considerable information in 
regard to the breeding habits of the alligator was obtained. A 
short visit was also made, on the way north, to the Okefenokee 
Swamp in Georgia. In the summer of 1906 the Okefenokee was 
again visited ; this time the swamp was penetrated to its centre, and 
nearly one hundred alligators were killed by the three hunters with 
whom I was traveling. It is this vigorous hunting, done chiefly at 
night, with a bull’s eye lantern and shot gun, that has so diminished 
the numbers of alligators that where, twenty years ago, hundreds 
could be seen, to-day scarcely one may be found. It seems a very 
wanton destruction of life to kill so many of these large animals, 
especially when it is remembered that a large alligator hide is worth 
to the hunter only about $1.50. 
Just how soon (if at all) the alligator is likely to be exterminated 
in our southern states it is impossible to say, but so long as those 
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