American Alligator

4 gator hatchlings born this year, are thriving in a patch of lilly pads...surrounded by dense cat-tail cover. Baby gators find areas like this to dwell to stay out of sight of any predators. Hawks, racoons, snakes and even large mouth bass are a threat to a baby alligator. If a baby alligator can survive in the wild for the first two years of its life...odds are great that it will make it to adulthood. Male and female baby alligators are determined by the temperature in the mound that the mother built for her eggs. 89° and above produce males...while temperatures below 89° produce females. The odds of most reptile species making it to adulthood are around 2%. So if a mother alligator lays a clutch of 50 eggs...1 or 2 of those will survive mother nature.