Alligators are social creatures and often stay in groups called congregations.
Alligators are cold-blooded reptiles that can’t control their body temperature internally. To regulate heat they have to go for a swim to cool down or lie in the sun to warm up.
Image © Chris Gillete for ‘The Earth’
There are two different types of alligator, which vary in size. The American alligator lives in the southern United States and can grow up to 3.4 meters (11.2 ft) long and weight nearly half a ton (1,000 lbs. or 454 kilograms). Chinese alligators are smaller, growing to around 1.5 m (5 ft) long and usually weighing around 23 kg (50 lbs).
They are traditionally found in rivers, lakes, ponds and swamps, but are now confined mostly to ditches and ponds on agricultural land. Much of their habitat has been converted to rice paddies.