Alligators in Texas

The American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, was facing extinction due to hunting and loss of habitat.  Originally alligators could be found as far north as New Jersey, south along the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast and inland up the Mississippi River to the convergence with the Arkansas River and west in Texas to the 100th meridian.  (San Angelo is just west of the 100th meridian.)  Today's smaller range is east to the Carolina's, west to Texas, and north into Arkansas.  Texas provided protection for alligators beginning in 1969 and the population has recovered such that it is no longer listed as an endangered species.

The American alligator is an amazing creature - a large reptile, armored with coarse scales ranging in length from 6-14 feet.  The head is large with large visible upper teeth along the long jaw line.



The front feet have five toes and the rear feet are webbed with four toes.  Alligators are semi-aquatic choosing to live in marshy bodies of water.  While they are more often found in fresh water, they tolerate brackish water also.  They are good swimmers and often float with just their eyes and nostrils above the water. They are able to run quickly over short distances on land.  I have never been fortunate to hear an alligator, but they can be very vocal.  Young alligators bark and adults may bellow, grunt, or hiss.



Carnivorous, alligators will eat any animal it can catch. The normal diet includes small mammals, waterbirds, snakes, fish, crustaceans, lizards, turtles, and even other alligators.  When human habitation coincides with alligator areas, small pets can also be part of the diet.  Fortunately, alligators usually avoid humans, but small children can be at risk when alligators are present.

In Texas, alligators brumate from mid-October until early March.  Brumation is similar to mammal hibernation, a dormant state for cold blooded animals.  A brumating reptile is lethargic, sometimes not moving at all during the cold season.  Brumation is not the sleep of hibernation rather a less active state where the metabolism slows so they don't need to eat.

After emerging from brumation, alligators breed and nest from March 1 through May 30.  Females remain close to their home territory, but males occupy ranges up to ten square miles.  The female builds a nest from local vegetation that may be as large as six feet across and several feet tall.  She lays eggs in the center of the mound and the heat from both the decaying vegetation and sunlight incubates the eggs.  Females lay over 35 eggs, which are about three inches in length.  Incubation lasts about 2 months and the female watches and defends the nest.  The young alligators "yip" when they hatch and the female helps dig them out of the nest.  Hatchlings are about 9 inches long and stay with their protective mothers for up to two years.

Getting Back into the Groove

It seems like when we get home from a trip, I have a transition time before my productivity starts back up.

We took our time coming back from Florida touring areas of Biloxi that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina and driving around parts of New Orleans.

When we got back into Texas we explored Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Boy Scout Woods at High Island, and the Atwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.

We drove around Anahuac Tuesday afternoon to get an idea what all was there. I got a few shots of this young alligator in one of the ditches.



We spent the night at an older motel at Crystal Beach - the closest operating motel to High Island. We got up fairly early, but not the predawn that I envisioned. Grabbing breakfast items I headed over to Boy Scout Woods and lugged my big lens into the photo blind. Not too much activity, so I tried a couple of other spots. While I did have some birds come and check me out, my best photos were of some turtles sunning themselves. My first photos have some blurred grasses that annoy me, but I waited patiently and this turtle began to move forward giving me a stronger shot.





I was amazed at how the spring green growth in the water coated their shells.

I spent a couple of hours hoping for some bird shots and then we headed back to Anahuac. While we missed the best of the early morning light, we did see several groups of alligators. There were three alligators sunning near each other and Henry proclaimed - yes this is a shot - so I got out the big lens and played.



We started heading in the direction of home but using a route that took us by the Atwater Prairie Chicken NWR. While we did not see any prairie chickens I learned about an upcoming event where visitors are driven out to watch the last of the displays of the season. It is not disruptive to nesting because the nests are well established. These amazing chickens are highly endangered - less than 50 chickens are currently found at this refuge.

We made the loop a number of times. Right before sunset, a bittern made his appearance. He was so comical as he stretched his neck out and tried to stay perfectly still hoping that we would not notice him.



We knew it was close to sunset and we would be finishing up near the water. We came across the last rays of sun and I knew I had to have that picture. So . . . picture me scrambling madly to get out the proper tripod - change the lens and get set up just as quick as I could because I knew if I was not very fast, I would miss it. You can see how close I came, the sun is almost all the way down. While I took more that may work, this one is my favorite as the sun is still visible as it sets on the horizon.