He Was a Gator Boy... She Said See You Later (alligator) Boy...

    

     Crikey!! Due to the fact that I am a Wildlife Management student and Steve Irwin enthusiast, I was super excited to see all the different species of wildlife at the everglades trail we set out on- especially the gators. It did not disappoint. Being that this was the first time I have ever seen these guys in the wild, it was interesting to watch them do their thing (its not much different than what they do in zoos and aquariums. They kinda just sit there and chill, but it’s still cool). One of the things Dr. Z and I noticed was the potential territoriality of these gators when one gator started to follow another into its territory, but immediately stopped and quickly swam away. Although I do know that alligators can be aggressive and solitary, I also know that they sometimes like to hang out in big groups. Therefore, I decided to figure out the deal with them and whether they like to squad up all the time, sometimes, or just with certain gators.

       Turns out that it’s a little bit of a mix of all the above! The larger male and female gators tend to be solitary and more territorial than smaller gators. In fact, the gators we often see in groups are considered the smaller gators because they are more tolerant to other small gators (aww). However, other sources say that alligators are social but the larger ones tend to stay in the social congregation but with their own divided and separate territory. And with that territory, they are extremely protective. I have always found social structures in wildlife to be extremely interesting, but have often found that the social classification for species are often confusing and complex like the American Alligator. Therefore, I believe that these social behaviors should be researched and explained more.                                                                            Despite their confusing social history traits, there is no doubt that these animals are extremely helpful to this everglades ecosystem and the wildlife within it. From creating gator holes to alter the environment for other species to thrive in, to being keystone predators and keeping the rest of the trophic levels at balance, the American Alligator is a crucial factor to the life of this environment.    
  

  

If you want to find out more about alligator sociality, click here:

https://defenders.org/american-alligator/basic-facts

If you want to find out more about the importance of alligators in everglade ecosystems, click here:

https://earthsky.org/earth/how-alligator-holes-benefit-the-florida-everglades