when there were fewer hunters and civilization had not overrun almost 
every available habitat, specimens were taken averaging more than twenty 
feet. As recently as 1889, sixteen feet was given as the average length. 
Longevity of the species is unknown except for records of captive 
specimens. The title for age seems to go to one old American ’gator kept 
in the zoological gardens of Dresden for fifty-six years. 
Ditmars, Reese and Mcllhenny have observed the growth of alli¬ 
gators, and under favorable conditions the rate is about one foot a year 
for the first six years. Tagged alligators observed in the wild state show 
that both males and females average a little more than one foot per year 
until the ninth year, but the males slightly exceed the females in growth; 
after the fifth year the females increase in size more slowly. 
Nine years seem to mark adulthood for females, who begin to lay 
eggs at that age. Some captive specimens show that they are capable of 
breeding when nearly forty years old. 
During the breeding season, which occurs in early spring, the broad¬ 
bodied, heavy-headed males bellow so that they can be heard a mile away. 
At this time they engage in furious fights, often losing toes, limbs and 
portions of their tails. They inflate themselves and hiss as they exhale, 
lashing about violently with their tails and churning the water. 
A jet of fine musky liquid issuing from a gland in the male’s chin 
is believed to have the function of attracting the females. In April or 
May the female seeks a sheltered spot on a bank, and builds a mound 
of mud and vegetation. There she lays her elliptical eggs, numbering 
about thirty, and covers them with a heap of vegetable matter. The nests 
may be as much as three feet high and eight feet in diameter at the base. 
Regardless of the dryness of the surrounding air, the interior of the nest 
is always damp, since the females return to wet it during dry periods. 
Otherwise the eggs would dry out, for they are extremely porous. 
The temperature in the mound is fairly constant, ranging from ninety- 
five to one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit, even when there is a 
variation of fifty degrees in the outside temperature. The eggs require 
about sixty-five days for incubation. During this time the male is utterly 
unconcerned with domestic affairs, but the mother remains near the nest 
and will defend it against humans and other animals. Several hours before 
hatching, the young begin to squeak, whereupon the mother opens the nest 
26 
