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.” 
Sizeand 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- 
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