18 FORESTANDSTREAM January. 1922 
THE FASTLY VANISHING ALLIGATOR 
SCATTERED HERE AND THERE IN ’GATOR HOLES THE ONCE ABUNDANT 
ALLIGATOR IS MAKING ITS LAST STAND AGAINST EXTERMINATION 
By ALFRED 0. PHILIPP 
The habitat of the alligator 
T hat alligator 
hunting must 
soon be relegated 
to the pages of 
past sporting history is 
now practically an as- 
sured fact. Make no 
mistake about it, the 
’gator is going and he’s 
going fast, for he can- 
not hold his own against 
the advance of civiliza- 
tion which has invaded 
his domain. 
Nor is protective leg- 
islation of any effective 
sort to be hoped for, for 
unlike the case of the 
buffalo and antelope, 
there is but little senti- 
ment evoked by the de- 
creasing numbers of the 
alligator. And were a 
vote on the question 
taken I would venture 
to predict that ’’good 
riddance” would express 
the popular opinion. 
Many people have a natural abhorrence 
of reptiles in general, and loathe every- 
thing that creeps or crawls. This feel- 
ing of revulsion is often quite an ob- 
session. But it is a very near-sighted 
attitude for a nature lover to assume, 
for most of the pleasures of outdoor life 
are derived through studying the deni- 
zens of the wild, making their acquain- 
tance and learning their ways. And not 
the least interesting of Nature’s children 
is the alligator. 
T he alligator belongs to the order of 
Crocodilia. This order represents 
the highest living forms of reptile life 
and includes the crocodiles, caimans, ga- 
vials and alligators. The alligator family 
boasts but two species — the Chinese alli- 
gator (Alligator sinensis), a small alli- 
gator found along the Yang-tse-Kiang 
River, in China, and which never attains 
a length of more than six feet ; and our 
own American alligator (Alligator miss- 
issippiensis) . 
Naturalists recognize but one species 
of alligator as inhabiting the New World. 
And while known by various local names 
in the different localities, such as “Flor- 
ida alligator,” “Louisiana alligator,” etc., 
still we must bear in mind that there is 
really but one alligator found on this 
continent, and that is the American alli- 
gator. The slight difference noted in 
the external characteristics of alligators 
found in different localities is but an in- 
significant variation, due to local condi- 
tions and environment, and certainly does 
not constitute a different species. 
In the United States the American 
alligator is found in those southern states 
ranging from the southern part of North 
Carolina to the Rio Grande, including 
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. 
Florida seems to lead in numbers, for 
the incredible numbers of these rep- 
tiles reported to have been seen within 
her boundaries by the early explorers 
is well-nigh unbelievable. In a book 
recording the travels of Clarke and 
Bartram in Florida over a hundred 
years ago, we read : “Through the nar- 
row pass of San Juans . . . the alliga- 
tors were in such incredible numbers, 
and so close together from shore to 
shore, that it would have been easy to 
have walked across on their heads had 
the animals been harmless.” 
This is doubtless more or less exag- 
geration, but fortunately there are reli- 
able statistics available which have been 
carefully compiled by the U. S. Bureau 
of Fisheries and other reliable agencies. 
The fashion for alligator leather came 
into vogue about 1855, and thousands of 
hides were converted into leather. The 
fashion soon died out, however, but dur- 
ing the Civil War the 
demand for shoe leather 
was so pressing that alli- 
gator hides were again 
resorted to. After the 
war the business again 
took a slump for a few ‘ 
years. But in 1869 the i 
demand for alligator 
leather again manifested j 
itself and has continued 
unabated until this day. 
At first Florida was 
the principal producer, 
with trade centers lo- 
cated at Cocoa, Mel- 
bourne, Fort Pierce, 
Miami and Kissimmee. 
According to the Bureau 
of Fisheries reports ten . 
men at Cocoa took 2,500 
skins during 1899, 1900. 
One man took 800 skins ' 
in one year, while an- ; 
other man holds a record 
of collecting 42 skins in 
one night. At Fort Pierce 
twelve men took 4,000 ' 
skins in 1889. In 1889 three firms at Kis- 
simmee handled 33,600 hides. So great 
was the slaughter during this period that 
probably 80 per cent, of all the alligators ■ 
in Florida and Louisiana were killed 
during the twenty years from 1882 to 
1902. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, in a Bulletin 
of the U. S. Fish Commission, says: “It > 
is estimated that 2,500,000 alligators were 
killed in Florida between 1880 and 1894.” ' 
T FT us consider a brief summary of 
■L-' the ’gator’s life and habits from 
birth to maturity. In the spring the 
female sets about to construct a nest in i 
some favored, spot in the proximity of 
her hole. This is usually some slight 
elevation favorably located to receive the 
warmth of the sun. i 
The nest is composed of decaying ^ 
masses of the damp swamp vegetation J 
and is slightly mound-shaped. About the ' 
second week in June the eggs are de- 
posited, usually averaging about 30 in ii 
number, although there are recorded in- i 
stances of a female alligator laying more 
than 60 eggs. About two months is the ' 
favorable period of incubation. At mid- ; 
day the heat is most intense, and it is I 
then that the cool, damp vegetation of 
the nest prevents the eggs from over- 
heating. At times the nights are com- ! 
paratively cold, but decaying vegetation ijj 
gives off heat and keeps them warm. I 
