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Has increased with protection. Current primary threat is loss and degradation of habitat due to recreational use and agricultural and other development.  In Louisiana, fire ants detrimentally affected nest success to a significant degree by killing hatchlings in the nest and possibly by deterring opening of nests by maternal females (Reagan et al. 2000). Resistant to human incursion as long as habitat (especially nest sites) are not disturbed.","shortTermTrendComments":"Declined greatly to a low point in the mid-1960s. Since then has increased with protection.","longTermTrendComments":null,"inventoryNeeds":"Continued monitoring of populations, especially size, composition, annual production, and mortality.","numberProtEosComments":"Protected occurrences occur throughout much of the alligator`s range.","protectionNeeds":"Restrict wetland development. Enforce anti-poaching laws. Regulate harvest on sustained yield basis. Prevent/limit altered water flow to prevent flooding and inundation of nests in low lying areas.","otherConsiderations":null,"intrinsicVulnerabilityComments":null,"enviromentalSpecificityComments":null},"animalCharacteristics":{"elementGlobalId":100172,"majorHabitat":{"id":3,"majorHabitatDescEn":"Terrestrial","majorHabitatDescEs":"Terrestre","majorHabitatDescFr":"Terrestre"},"nonMigrant":false,"localMigrant":false,"longDistanceMigrant":false,"mobilityMigrationComments":null,"foodHabitsComments":"Opportunistic feeder. Juveniles eat mainly invertebrates: crayfish, aquatic and terrestrial insects, and mollusks; also small fishes, amphibians, and small mammals. Larger individuals eat vertebrates, including birds, reptiles (infrequently conspecifics), mammals (up to the size of deer), and fishes (USFWS 1980); also observed eating horseshoe crabs in eastern Florida. Smaller prey is swallowed whole; twists off chunks off flesh from larger prey. Digestive system commonly contains small stones.","animalPhenologyComments":"In the northern part of the range, alligators are generally inactive or at least less active from about late November to March.","colonialBreeder":false,"length":400,"width":null,"weight":null,"animalPhenologies":[{"animalCagPhenologyId":100653,"animalPhenology":{"id":1,"animalPhenologyDescEn":"Hibernates/aestivates","animalPhenologyDescEs":"Hibernación/Estivación","animalPhenologyDescFr":"Hiberne/estive","displayOrder":1},"adult":true,"immature":true},{"animalCagPhenologyId":100654,"animalPhenology":{"id":2,"animalPhenologyDescEn":"Circadian","animalPhenologyDescEs":"Circadiano","animalPhenologyDescFr":"Circadien","displayOrder":2},"adult":true,"immature":true}],"animalFoodHabits":[{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":101341,"foodHabits":{"id":1,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Carnivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Carnívoro","foodHabitsDescFr":"Carnivore","displayOrder":1},"adult":true,"immature":true},{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":101342,"foodHabits":{"id":2,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Piscivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Piscivore","foodHabitsDescFr":"Piscivore","displayOrder":2},"adult":true,"immature":true},{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":101343,"foodHabits":{"id":3,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Invertivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Invertívoro","foodHabitsDescFr":"Invertivore","displayOrder":3},"adult":true,"immature":true}]},"occurrenceDelineations":[{"eoSpecsDetailId":1256,"locationUseClass":{"id":1,"locationUseClassDescEn":"Not applicable","locationUseClassDescEs":"No se aplica","locationUseClassDescFr":"Sans objet","displayOrder":1},"eoSpecGroupName":null,"subtypes":null,"inferredExtentDistance":5.0,"inferredExtentNotes":null,"minimumEoCriteria":"Occurrences are based on evidence of historical presence, or current and likely recurring presence, at a given location. Such evidence minimally includes collection or reliable observation and documentation of one or more individuals (including eggs) in or near appropriate habitat where the species is presumed to be established and  breeding.","mappingGuidance":null,"separationBarriers":"Busy highway or highway with obstructions such that alligators rarely if ever cross successfully (does not include highways that traverse continuous aquatic/wetland habitat); untraversable topography (e.g., cliff); urbanized area dominated by buildings and pavement and lacking aquatic or wetland habitat.","separationDistanceUnsuitableHabitatat":5.0,"separationDistanceSuitableHabitatat":15.0,"altSeparationProcedure":null,"separationJustification":"Alligator home range sizes and movements, especially those of adult males, are extremely variable (see Migration/Mobility comments). Males may move over areas encompassing less than 100 ha or up to a little more than 5,000 ha, and males sometimes move more than 8 km in a day. Most females have annual home ranges of less than 50 ha. A 1,000-ha home range (if circular) would be roughly 3.6 km in diameter, and a 5,000-ha home range would be 8 km in diameter. The 15-km separation distance for suitable (aquatic/wetland) habitat is arbitrarily based on approximately twice the diameter of a circular 5,000-ha home range, though of course home ranges are not circular.   <br><br>For the purposes of these occurrence specifications, unsuitable habitat refers to upland habitat. Movements across upland habitats would seem to be highly restricted under normal circumstances. However, a 2.2-meter female that was translocated 3.3 km returned to the original point of capture within eight days; apparently it moved overland, perhaps using a series of small wet areas as \"stepping stones\" (Woolard et al., 2004, Herpetol. 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See Jones and Hayes-Odum (1994, Herpetol. 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The behavior of juvenile <i>Alligator mississippiensis</i> and <i>Caiman crocodilus</i> exposed to low temperature. Copeia 1990:867-871.","shortCitationAuthor":"Brandt and Mazzotti","shortCitationYear":1990,"referenceCode":"A90BRA01NAUS","lastModified":"2020-11-11T02:01:50.4491Z"},{"id":140896,"citation":"Brisbin, I. L., Jr., and M. A. McDonald. 1989. Genetic patterns and the conservation of crocodilians: a review of strategies and options. Pages 156-168 in Crocodiles: Proc. 8th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group, IUCN.","shortCitationAuthor":"Brisbin and McDonald","shortCitationYear":1989,"referenceCode":"A89BRI01NAUS","lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:12:10.569499Z"},{"id":111470,"citation":"Brisbin, I. L., Jr., et al. 1986. 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FWS/OBS-80/01.39.","shortCitationAuthor":"USFWS","shortCitationYear":1980,"referenceCode":"A80FWS08NAUS","lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:12:10.585113Z"},{"id":107184,"citation":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 4 June 1987. Reclassification of the American alligator to threatened due to similarity of appearance throughout the remainder of its range. Federal Register 52:21059-21064.","shortCitationAuthor":"USFWS","shortCitationYear":1987,"referenceCode":"A87USF24NAUS","lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:12:10.585113Z"},{"id":144363,"citation":"Webb, G. J. W., et al., eds. 1987. Wildlife management: crocodiles and alligators. Surrey Beatty &amp; Sons Pty Limited, New South Wales, Australia. 552 pp.","shortCitationAuthor":"Webb et al.","shortCitationYear":1987,"referenceCode":"B87WEB01NAUS","lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:12:10.585113Z"},{"id":151761,"citation":"Woodward, A. R., M. L. Jennings, and H. F. Percival. 1989. Egg collecting and hatch rates of American alligator eggs in Florida. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 17:124-130.","shortCitationAuthor":"Woodward et al.","shortCitationYear":1989,"referenceCode":"A89WOO02NAUS","lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:12:10.585113Z"}],"otherCommonNames":[{"id":144145,"name":"American alligator","language":"EN"}],"speciesGlobal":{"elementGlobalId":100172,"cites":{"id":2,"citesDescEn":"Appendix II","citesDescEs":"Apéndice II","citesDescFr":"Annexe II"},"cosewic":null,"fwsRegion":{"id":4,"fwsRegionDescEn":"Southeast","fwsRegionDescEs":"Sureste","fwsRegionDescFr":"Sud-Est"},"genusSize":{"id":2,"genusSizeDescEn":"Very small genus","genusSizeDescEs":"Un género muy pequeño","genusSizeDescFr":"Très petit genre"},"jurisEndem":{"id":3,"jurisEndemDescEn":"endemic to a single nation","jurisEndemDescEs":"Endémico de una nación","jurisEndemDescFr":"Endémique à une nation"},"nomenclaturallyEst":null,"usesa":{"id":28,"usesaDescEn":"Threatened due to similarity of appearance","usesaDescEs":"Catalogado como amenazado debido a apariencia similar (nuevo)","usesaDescFr":"Menacée en raison de la similitude d'apparence","usesaCode":"SAT"},"informalTaxonomy":{"informalTaxonomyId":5,"level1":"Animals","level2":"Vertebrates","level3":"Crocodilians","level":3,"hasChildren":false,"parentId":2,"distributionStatus":"complete","displayOrder":1080},"parentSpecies":null,"infraspecies":false,"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Craniata","taxclass":"Crocodylia","taxorder":"Crocodilia","family":"Alligatoridae","genus":"Alligator","americanFisheriesStatus":null,"americanFisheriesStatusDate":null,"saraStatus":null,"saraStatusDate":null,"cosewicDate":null,"interpretedCosewic":null,"cosewicComments":null,"usesaDate":"1987-06-04","interpretedUsesa":null,"usesaComments":"Listed by USFWS as Threatened rangewide due to similarity of appearance to other listed crocodilians.","completeDistribution":true,"synonyms":[],"infraspeciesList":[],"ebarId":null,"ebarCanadianScope":false,"ebarGlobalScope":false,"ebarKbaGroup":"Amphibians and Reptiles","caGeneralStatusId":null},"speciesCharacteristics":{"elementGlobalId":100172,"reproductionComments":"Spring courtship involves loud bellowing and slapping of the head against the water surface. Reproductive females deposit clutches of usually about 20-60 eggs in May, June, or July (peak in late June-early July in the Everglades, north-central Florida, and Georgia). Eggs hatch in about 9 weeks. Female stays near the nest and may protect it during incubation, and she assists the emergence of the young by opening the nest mound; sometimes she carries the young in her mouth to water. Hatchlings may stay together in the vicinity of the nest and mother for 1-3 years (Behler and King 1979, USFWS 1980). Sexually mature in about 6-7 years. <br><br>In most areas, about 25-30% of the adult females nest in a particular year (Rootes and Chabreck 1993); a nesting rate of up to 68% was recorded in one area in southwestern Louisiana (see Taylor et al. 1991). <br><br>Reproductive success in the Everglades was constrained primarily by egg mortality caused by flooding (Kushlan and Jacobsen 1990). In north-central Florida, 31% of nests with complete clutches were destroyed by mammalian predators (Goodwin and Marion 1978).","ecologyComments":"During periods of drought, \"gator holes\" (deep areas wallowed out by alligators) are important to the survival of individuals of many aquatic animal species.<br><br>In Louisiana (Joanen and McNease 1970, 1972), nesting females had a minimum home range of 6.4-41.0 acres; males had minimum home range sizes of 452-12,560 acres and sometimes traveled over 8 km in a day. <br><br>Also in Louisiana, annual home range size of 15 radiotracked adult females was 6-166 ha; 12 of the 15 had home ranges under 50 ha (Rootes and Chabreck 1993). <br><br>See Brandt (1991) for information on the population biology of an increasing population in South Carolina. <br><br>In Georgia, nests incurred a high rate of predation by black bears (Hunt and Ogden 1991).","habitatComments":"American alligators inhabit fresh and brackish marshes, ponds, lakes, rivers, swamps, bayous, canals, and large spring runs. They often bask on partially submerged logs or on land next to the water. Alligators dig dens in river or lake margins or in marshes; they spend cold winter and drought periods in the den They depend on access to air holes to survive in ice-covered ponds (Brandt and Mazotti 1990). <br><br>Copulation occurs in shallow water. Females deposit eggs in large mounded nests made of leaves, mud, rotting vegetation, rocks, or other debris. Nests are built in marshes or at lake or river margins. In north-central Florida, alligators nested in close proximity to permanent water, used a wide variety of available plant materials and soil in constructing nest (Goodwin and Marion 1978). Turtles (e.g., <i>Pseudemys nelsoni</i>) often lay eggs in alligator nests.","generalDescription":"American alligators are blackish or olive drab on top. The young have bold yellowish crossbands that may persist inconspicuously into adulthood. The broadly rounded snout lacks conspicuous upward-protruding teeth. Maximum total length is about 19 feet (5.8 meters), but alligators today are generally 13 feet (4 meters) or less (Conant and Collins 1991; see also Ross and Ernst 1994). Males grow much larger than do females. In Florida during 1977-1993, the longest measured male and female alligators were 4.3 m and 3.1 m, respectively (Woodward et al. 1995, J. Herpetol. 29:507-513). Total length is about 8-9 inches (21-23 cm) at hatching. See Allsteadt and Land (1995, Herpetologica 51:314-325) for information on sexual dimorphism in the genital region of young alligators.","diagnosticCharacteristics":"This species differs from the American crocodile in having a broader snout and in not having the 4th lower jaw tooth protruding conspicuously upward near the end of the snout (tooth may be inconspicuous in small crocodiles). It differs from the spectacled caiman in lacking a curved, bony, crosswise ridge in front of the eyes.","speciesMarineHabitats":[],"speciesTerrestrialHabitats":[],"speciesRiverineHabitats":[{"cagRiverineHabId":-101819,"riverineHabitat":{"id":1,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"BIG RIVER","riverineHabitatDescEs":"RÍO GRANDE","riverineHabitatDescFr":"GRANDE RIVIÈRE","displayOrder":1}},{"cagRiverineHabId":-101820,"riverineHabitat":{"id":2,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"MEDIUM RIVER","riverineHabitatDescEs":"RÍO MEDIANO","riverineHabitatDescFr":"MOYENNE RIVIÈRE","displayOrder":2}},{"cagRiverineHabId":-101821,"riverineHabitat":{"id":3,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"CREEK","riverineHabitatDescEs":"ARROYO","riverineHabitatDescFr":"RUISSEAU","displayOrder":3}},{"cagRiverineHabId":-101822,"riverineHabitat":{"id":4,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"SPRING/SPRING BROOK","riverineHabitatDescEs":"MANANTIAL/VERTIENTE","riverineHabitatDescFr":"PRINTEMPS/RUISSEAUX PRINTANIERS","displayOrder":4}},{"cagRiverineHabId":-101823,"riverineHabitat":{"id":7,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"Low gradient","riverineHabitatDescEs":"Pendiente de bajo flujo","riverineHabitatDescFr":"Pente d’écoulement faible","displayOrder":7}},{"cagRiverineHabId":-101824,"riverineHabitat":{"id":9,"riverineHabitatDescEn":"Pool","riverineHabitatDescEs":"Piscina","riverineHabitatDescFr":"Fosse","displayOrder":9}}],"speciesPalustrineHabitats":[{"cagPalusHabId":-100937,"palustrineHabitat":{"id":2,"palustrineHabitatDescEn":"HERBACEOUS WETLAND","palustrineHabitatDescEs":"HUMEDAL HERBÁCEO","palustrineHabitatDescFr":"TERRE HUMIDE HERBACÉE","displayOrder":2}},{"cagPalusHabId":-100938,"palustrineHabitat":{"id":3,"palustrineHabitatDescEn":"SCRUB-SHRUB WETLAND","palustrineHabitatDescEs":"HUMEDAL DE MATORRALES","palustrineHabitatDescFr":"FRUTICÉE HUMIDE","displayOrder":3}},{"cagPalusHabId":-100939,"palustrineHabitat":{"id":4,"palustrineHabitatDescEn":"FORESTED WETLAND","palustrineHabitatDescEs":"HUMEDAL BOSCOSO","palustrineHabitatDescFr":"TERRE HUMIDE FORESTIÈRE","displayOrder":4}},{"cagPalusHabId":-100940,"palustrineHabitat":{"id":6,"palustrineHabitatDescEn":"Riparian","palustrineHabitatDescEs":"Ribereño","palustrineHabitatDescFr":"Riverain","displayOrder":6}}],"speciesLacustrineHabitats":[{"cagLacusHabId":-100186,"lacustrineHabitat":{"id":2,"lacustrineHabitatDescEn":"Shallow water","lacustrineHabitatDescEs":"Aguas poco profundas","lacustrineHabitatDescFr":"Eau peu profonde","displayOrder":2}}],"speciesSubterraneanHabitats":[],"speciesEstuarineHabitats":[{"cagEstuarineHabId":-100154,"estuarineHabitat":{"id":5,"estuarineHabitatDescEn":"Herbaceous wetland","estuarineHabitatDescEs":"Humedal herbáceo","estuarineHabitatDescFr":"Terre humide herbacée","displayOrder":5}}]},"primaryReference":{"id":1153425,"citation":"Nicholson, K. E. (ed.). 2025. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Ninth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 87 pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx","shortCitationAuthor":"Nicholson","shortCitationYear":2025,"referenceCode":"B25NIC01NAUS","lastModified":"2026-06-06T01:36:32.018241Z"},"predecessors":[],"elementGlobalThreatAssessments":[]}