Snap up these 8 facts for National Alligator Day!

As it’s National Alligator Day, we’ve snapped up some fun facts for the occasion. 

1.
The sex of an alligator is determined by the temperature of the nest rather than by DNA. If it’s warm the babies are male, if it’s cool the babies are female.

2.
The teeth of an alligator are replaced if they wear down or get broken off. They have approximately 75 teeth in their mouth at one time but, over their lifetime, can have had up to 3,000 teeth in total.

3.
When mating both male and female alligators emit roars that are so loud that they have earned the title as the loudest reptiles in the world. Their roar can reach 90 decibels, which is about as loud as a lawn mower.

4.
An alligator can reach a speed of up to 35mph when travelling on land, which makes them faster than Usain Bolt (whose world record speed is 27.8mph)

5.
An alligator’s jaw can exert up to 1000 pounds of pressure.

6.
Alligators are cannibals. They may eat each other during food shortages (with baby alligators being the most likely to be eaten first) and males will also eat other males during mating season as a way of eliminating other potential suitors of the females.

7.
In the wild alligators typically live between 30-35 years, but can live up to approximately 50 years in captivity. Though the oldest alligator in captivity is Muja, an American alligator at Belgrade Zoo in Serbia, who is currently believed to be between 87 and 88 years old. 

8.
Alligators eyes glow red at night. As they have a reflective layer in the back of their eyes called the tapetum lucidum, light reflects back into their eyes and helps them see in low light conditions – and causes their eyes to glow red.

Bonus Fact:

If you don’t know how to tell apart an alligator and a crocodile, just remember that an alligator will see you later and a crocodile will see you in a while.

Image Wikimedia Commons