Females reach sexual maturity at approximately 6 feet in length. Springtime courtship rituals are complex and can last for several hours. Female alligators choose nest sites above the water level to reduce the chance of flooding, which would kill most eggs within 12 hours of submergence. Completed nests are about 3.5 feet high and twice as wide. Females remain near the nest during the incubation period, which averages 58-63 days. When danger threatens, she will rapidly return to the nest to protect her eggs. The temperature at which the eggs develop determines the sex of the hatchling. Eggs that incubate at temperatures ranging from 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit hatch as males, while those that incubate from 82 to 86 degrees hatch as females. Intermediate temperature ranges yield a mix of both male and female hatchlings.

The female opens the nest in response to calls from the hatchlings when the eggs are ready to hatch. She carries 8 to 10 hatchlings at a time in her mouth down to the water, pulling her tongue down to make a pouch in which they sit. Upon arrival in the water, she opens her jaws and shakes her head gently from side to side, encouraging the hatchlings to swim out. The juveniles aggregate in pods that may include hatchlings from other nests and remain close to the mother typically as long as one year, but sometimes for two or even three years. This social system affords protection during their most vulnerable life stage from predators such as raccoons, large fish, birds, and even other alligators – mostly large, dominant males. The females respond swiftly to calls from hatchlings facing impending danger. Hatchlings grow rapidly, especially during their first four years, sometimes averaging more than 1 foot of growth for each year of life.

Alligator holes typically retain water throughout the winter dry season and serve as a refuge for a variety of wildlife.

Alligators are an important part of the Everglades ecosystem and are considered a keystone species of the park. The nesting activity of female alligators is important for the creation of peat. Several turtle species, such as the Florida red-bellied turtle (Chrysemys nelsoni), incubate their eggs inside both active and old/abandoned alligator nests. Water remains in alligator holes throughout the year except during severe drought conditions. As the dry season approaches and water dries up from other areas within the Everglades, the retained water causes alligator holes to become a refuge for a variety of wildlife. Although these animals become easy prey for alligators and other predators such as wading birds, the value of the refuge outweighs the risk. Human conflicts with alligators are rare and generally not serious, but incidents do occur and have been reported. Education and awareness is the best long-term way to avoid future incidents. Most alligator attacks on humans are attributed to the illegal feeding of alligators, which makes them bolder, less wary of humans, and more likely to attack instead of flee. It is illegal to feed or provoke alligators as well as all other wildlife.

Dwindling populations of alligators were the result of hunting and loss of habitat, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The number of alligators began to rebound when alligator farms opened and hunting was outlawed, easing the pressure on wild populations. However, even after hunting was prohibited in Florida, illegal poaching continued into the 1970s because the belly skin of alligators produces high-quality leather. Were it not for additional changes in the law controlling the movement of alligator hides, extinction may have been possible. Populations have since improved considerably, and alligators were removed from the list of endangered species in 1987 and are continuing to thrive in Florida today.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES