ALLIGATORS 
AMERICAN ALLIGATOR 
With its short legs hugging its thick, scaly body, the American alligator 
can propel itself through the water by means of its powerful tail and 
body more rapidly than a man can paddle a canoe. 
But it usually avoids such extreme physical exertion, preferring to 
loll about in inaccessible swamps. When in the water, it frequently lies 
quietly with only its eyes and the tip of its nose protruding. Disturbed, it 
will sink to the bottom. With the characteristic sluggishness of reptiles, it 
spends much of its time on an exposed bank, basking in the sun. 
The desire for food can spur the alligator to greater activity than is 
its wont. Its meal may consist of muskrats, snakes, insects, fishes, shrimp, 
pigs, or a number of other delicacies. If the prey is too large to be swal¬ 
lowed whole, the alligator holds the victim in its tooth-studded mouth and 
shakes it about or revolves with it in the water until it is torn to bits. 
Sometimes the reptile will drag the prey under water to drown it. And 
occasionally the victim is kept in the alligator’s den until it decomposes 
and becomes soft enough to be readily swallowed. 
On land, the alligator can run rapidly, its body well elevated, and 
in the dry season it may undertake long cross-country treks in search of 
water. 
At the approach of cold weather, it takes refuge in a den, dug in a 
mud bank and constructed with an underwater entrance. Here it lies dor¬ 
mant until spring. Should a cold spell surprise it away from home, it will 
lie in a torpid condition until warm weather returns. 
Alligators are in the main wary of man and will attack him only 
when cornered. Therefore, in approaching an alligator, one should strive 
to avoid giving it the impression that it is being cornered. 
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