Two species of broad-snouted crocodilian: the American alligator of the south-eastern US, and the much smaller Chinese alligator, which is critically endangered.
Quick answers
What is it?Reptile
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Yes
Alligators can and do attack people, often when someone gets close to them or their nests.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
It will eat at any hour, but on warm nights it hunts on land, ambushing animals by trails and roads.
Hibernates?No
Not true hibernation, but it goes dormant through cold winters.
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Farmed commercially for meat and skins.
At a glance
Found inNorth America, Asia
HabitatWetland, Rivers & lakes
ColoursBlack, Grey
SizeHuge
Length2.6–4.4 m (American)
Weight91–360 kg (American)
Legs4
Covered inScales
Lives alone
Lives for35–50 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the south-eastern US; the Chinese alligator survives only in the Yangtze River valley.
- What it eats
- Fish, turtles, birds and mammals; young alligators eat insects, snails and small fish.
Did you know
Wide rounded snout; a crocodile's is narrow and shows teeth.
Nest temperature decides whether eggs hatch male or female: 30 °C or cooler gives females, 34 °C or warmer gives males.
Often confused with
- Crocodile
An alligator has a broad U-shaped snout, and its lower teeth are hidden when its mouth is shut; a crocodile’s narrower snout shows them.
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