ALLIGATOR BEHAVIOR page 5j: BABY ALLIGATORS --page 10 Alligator nests and babies  page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12
This page was born 12/14/2022.  Rickubis designed it.   Last update: 03/21/2023
Images and contents on this page copyright ©2023 Richard M. Dashnau    

  Most of these were posted on the RICKUBISCAM page first, then moved here.

From Brazos Bend State Park on  09/25/2022 to 12/04/2022:  For 20 years, I've been going to Brazos Bend State Park almost every week. I've seen many seasons and conditions at the park.
 And, of course, spent lots of time watching  alligators (and many of the other animals that live there). I think this year I had my first chance to get a better look at the relationship between a
 pod of baby alligators that had to relocate and the environment it lives in. We had a very dry summer, and that caused big changes in the habitat. By chance, I happened to collect a number
 of observations of a single pod from September through December 4th (I'm writing this on 12/9, and there may be more to come.).  
One of my most important lessons involved the relationship of some of the wading birds (mostly Great Blue Herons) and the pod. For years, I've read about, and described, how
the baby gators are at risk from many predators, including herons.  But, during all the years standing on the trail, and watching the activities of the pods-while also  watching the foraging
strategy of the Herons-I began to wonder how the herons actually find the babies. The Herons (and many other "wading birds") generally do what I've described as
"prospecting" for prey. That is, they usually don't fly over an area to spot prey and attack it. They'll land at a good spot, and then start walking slowly while examining the area around them.
When they find a target, then they'll slowly stalk it until they get within striking distance--and make the stab.  Using that process alone, the odds against a Heron finding a pod
of gators seemed pretty low. The babies are well camouflaged, and of course the mother is usually around--although I've seen mother gators go off and leave their pod for
20 minutes or more.  But this summer I saw multiple examples of wading birds hunting near a pod of babies, and also got to see the mother warn off the birds that got too close.
The mother's protection was mostly successful...but that's at the end of this story.  So...let's go. I've put together an 11-minute long video that summarizes this, with the added
attraction of video clips showing some of the action. That 11-minute video is here.

Part 1 of 9: On 09/25/2022   Various park visitors mentioned seeing baby alligators and their mother near the concrete culvert by the 40 Acre Lake Observation Tower.  When I went back
 there,  I couldn't find the babies at first, but I did find a Great Blue Heron. After it stalked away a few yards, I heard some baby alligators chirp. I still couldn't see them. I stepped away from the
 culvert, and the Heron stalked back. Another Great Blue Heron appeared and chased off the first one. I waited, thinking that I'd soon be observing some drama involving a Great Blue
 Heron and some baby alligators. But, the second Heron moved closer to the bank, and I couldn't see what it was up to. (There was also brief action with a hawk and some bullfrogs
 described on this page. ) I discovered where the mother alligator was when she surfaced and rushed at the Heron--which flew away. Later, I realized the the Bullfrogs might have
 been flushed out of the water by the Great Blue Heron that I'd lost sight of below the bank. Also, the Hawk (which was also hunting in the area) was another potential threat for the baby
gators. The baby gators would have crossed the trail in the same area that the frogs had. A Hawk could have snatched up a baby gator just like it snatched the frog. The images below
 are from a bit later, and the babies started to appear.  I was surprised to see so many pop up. Right from my first sighting of this pod, Great Blue Herons were in the immediate area,
and possibly searching for the babies. 

Water by the new culvert/dam was already quite low, and clouded with silt stirred up by the animals moving in it.  When I looked for the babies the first time, they could have been hiding under
the water right there. As these two series of pictures show; the mother was easily hidden, too.  If she decided to just expose her nose to breathe,only the nasal valves opening would give it away.

A very good demonstration that shows that a mom gator could be anywhere near the pod.
 

Part 2 of 9: On 10/02/2022 (a week later), the pod had apparently moved across the trail, into Pilant Slough but still close to the tower.  But, what I saw first thing that morning was an
 alligator  chewing on the carcass of a Nutria. I thought I could hear a chirp or two, but no babies were visible. I watched the alligator-which I'd thought was the mother because it was
 near the babies. I had assumed that a mother alligator would chase other alligators away. But comparison of pictures taken over the summer shows that there was at least
 one other alligator that stayed in that area along with the mother with pod. This "2nd gator" was at lmuch larger than the mother. The alligator carried the carcass  into the weeds
where it was hidden from me.  After a while, It returned to the water without the Nutria in its jaws. Examination of that last image seems to show a bloated alligator,  so I think it
had swallowed the carcass instead of leaving it in the weeds.   The babies began to appear after another couple hours. 
  

Part 3 of 9: On 10/16/2022 there was a Great Blue Heron stalking the area. I did not ever see baby gators that day, but I could hear an occassional chirp. The mother was visible. The heron
quietly stalked through the heavy growth (shown in the pictures!). Mother gator slowly moved into the weeds. There was a rustle of quick movement, and a low splash.  The heron turned and
stalked away from the sound.  Somehow, the mother was aware of the proximity of the heron (in all that cover) and and moved to chase it off. This interaction was so subtle I didn't capture it,
 even though I was shooting video. Later, the mother moved onto one of the exposed mud banks (There's one to the left, one to the right in the first image).
 Then the other gator appeared, and got onto the bank with her! The "2nd gator" moved slowly, but not timidly, to get onto the favored basking spot.  Everything I have read about alligators
 indicates  that they do not bond as a pair.  I cannot tell why this mother was so tolerant of the presence of another alligator.  Could the babies be a combination of 2 pods? Or could it be
because the 2nd gator is larger, and the mother couldn't make it leave? The alligators wouldn't say. (If you examine the eye closeup, you can see me in the reflection)
   
   

Part 4 of 9: On 10/23/2022 I didn't see any predators that would threaten the pod. But that day, the alligators joined a chorus of bellowing. Alligators bellowed in 40 Acre Lake
and one of the alligators bellowed from near the pod. Although the alligator that I saw bellow seems to be a female, I believe that this is not the smaller one, which
seemed to be the acting guardian of the pod. The baby gators showed no fear of the "2nd gator", and one seems to be crawling over its snout. At the time, I still
assumed that the babies would stay near the mother--which I thought was the smaller adult alligator. Some time after the bellowing, more of the baby gators appeared, or
were easier to see as the quality of the light changed.   I have a lot more detail about the many events on this day (and why I think the bellower shown here is female)
on another of my pages.    There's also an edited video showing the events.  After reviewing this material for this report, I think that there were two females, and if not
two separate pods, possibly a merged group of two pods. From what I saw, the larger alligator ("2nd gator") didn't "protect" the babies like the smaller one did.
   
  

Part 5 of 9: On 10/30/2022 I didn't spend as much time near the pod. I stayed long enough to get some images of two American Bitterns hunting in the area.  I think this is
significant because a Bittern has been photographed capturing and eating a baby alligator at BBSP. But, since this area (and going down Pilant Slough going East) had
the available water in that vicinity, most of the wildlife would be gathered there anyway. It's possible that the Bitterns might have also been searching for the pod, but the
Great Blue Herons consistently worked near it.
 

Part 6 of 9: On 11/06/2022  the pod had moved about 30 yards East, and about 10 yards further out. As usual, more babies appeared as the day continued. A Great Blue Heron foraged
nearby, but stayed in the area where the pod had been. I didn't see the Heron get near the pod. But it did capture a Mississippi Green Water Snake in the same  area. I think that the Herons
 were aware that a pod of baby gators was in the area during the weeks since September.  I have more images of the pod on this day on  another of my pages ; there are more pictures of
 the Heron with the snake on this page.

   
  

Part 7 of 9: On 11/13/2022  a Great Blue Heron had apparently located the new hiding place for the pod. I noticed it walking towards the peeled-back plant. I prepared to film if the Heron
approached  the pod, but the mother gator signaled to the Heron with a loud splash. From my perspective, the Heron hadn't gotten very close, but the mother seemed to know it was around.
 The splash  was not as aggressive as a headslap; but it did cause the Heron to turn away. However, the Heron moved from my side of the spot, and then walked around the plant and started
 to approach from the other side. It seemed to change its mind, and turned and walked away. I couldn't capture photos that show the relative positions of the pod, mother and Heron. The
 image below is a frame from the short video I got. It shows the Heron as it made the second move towards the open spot where the pod was hidden. (update 12/10/2022)


Part 8 of 9: On 11/27/2022  The park finally got some rain! . Water levels rose a lot. Although this was good news, it also meant that the alligators (and other animals) had to readjust to the
water which now covered areas that had been exposed for the last few months. The two mud banks which had been near the culvert were gone. The plants which had been standing and
covered the area near the pod were gone. The alligators and pod didn't have cover, and didn't have a good basking spot. So, the
 pod moved to the bank next to the trail, and the mother came to bask on the trail. A little while after the mom gator first got on the trail, another large alligator climbed out of Pilant Slough a
few yards West, and crossed the trail into Pilant Lake.
   

Compare the images from this day to the previous days. There is a big difference in plant cover. The baby gators gathered on the bank near the left end of the concrete, below where the mom
 gator was resting.  A Great Blue Heron moved in, stalking on the mat of plants (2nd image below).  While this was happening, I was on the trail along with a number of park visitors. I got ready
 with the camera, expecting to see some kind of drama unfold. The heron took a few more steps closer to the near edge of the mat--when mom  gator launched herself off the concrete and into
the water!  This was done without any warning. She was lying still--and then she was airborne. I started filming the heron because I expected her to surface near it. But, she didn't go that way.
She surfaced nearer the babies. The heron just turned walked away...but not too far (3rd image below shows ripples from mom's dive, and the heron turned away). 
The heron  didn't go very far, and the mom gator came back up onto the trail. The heron continued its slow prospecting steps, while the mother came back onto the trail. I did not take a
picture of her then. She was not facing the water when she relaxed. Things were quiet for about 20 minutes. Then the heron moved to the edge of the mat near us.  It stabbed down and
caught something. Whatever it was, it was very small (less than 1/2 inch, because I could barely see anything there).  But the heron picked it up, tossed it, and squeezed it. There was a very
small "crunch" sound. Mom gator raised her head, turned towards the water, saw the heron (I think), and launched into the water again-all in one burst of movement. All I could do was shoot
video of the aftermath-so I focused on the heron again. The 4th picture below shows the ripples from mom gator's second dive. She surfaced near the babies again. Here were 2 great
demonstrations of her guarding the babies.
   

The first two pictures below show the mother's head where she surfaced. The babies had been near that left end of the concrete. They were hiding by then. The heron finally left, and the mom
gator came back onto the trail to rest. 
   

Part 9 of 9: On 12/04/2022  The water was still high. In the morning, the mother alligator was visible, but I couldn't see any of the babies at first. 
   

A larger alligator (probably the "2nd gator" that had been sharing the area all along) moved in behind the mother! At one point, it even bumped the mother alligator and one of them made a
very low, quiet, short "growl".  The mother didn't move, and the other alligator backed off and moved away. It eventually climbed onto the floating plant mat. One picture shows how close the
2nd gator was, and also shows the size difference between them. Babies started to appear after a couple hours. They seemed to be coming out of a cavity under the bank, near mom gator's
nose in the last picture.
   

The mother also moved over to the plant mat (she's at the center in the 2nd image below). More babies moved out of that hidden cavity and climbed onto the bank. They were a few feet below
the trail, well camouflaged, and near the water. Their mother was within sight of the pod. It was a situation that I've seen many times over the years. During all of those times, I've enjoyed
watching the baby alligators, and enjoying the quiet times with park visitors that came by--for hours on some days.  But today was going to be different.
   

At about 12:30, I was doing the usual "crowd control"-keeping people back from the bank so they wouldn't scare the babies; talking about the adult gators, etc. There was a small group of
visitors around me. As we talked, and pointed, a Great Blue Heron walked along the bank, coming from the short wooden bridge. It came closer to us, then walked at the edge of the trail
--only 6 feet away from us!!--then moved to the edge of the concrete culvert.  I asked everyone to be still, and watch what would happen next. The heron paced to the left edge of the culvert,
looked down the bank, stalked down the bank, and grabbed a baby alligator! Right in front of us!  
   

The images of the heron here are frames from video. Standing just 6 feet from the heron, I had a brief, amazed look of those huge wings opened in front of me. Reviewing the images later, I
 can admire the balance and physical prowess being demonstrated. The open wings provide balance and stability to offset the weight of the heron's neck, the energy of its strike and
recovery; all as it was leaning forward and down while standing on a steep bank. Imagine standing in the same spot, and reaching down to grab something with your hand without falling into
the water, and you may have some idea of why I could admire what was happened here. The heron turned, walked up the bank, took a step or two and took off with the baby.
   

It landed about 50 yards West, on the plant mats in Pilant Slough, and we could see it finish eating the hatchling.The mother responded by rushing into the water and over to the bank, but she
 hadn't  begun moving until after the heron had gotten back onto the trail, far too late to save the heron's prey. The babies had all submerged.
   

The mother climbed onto the trail near the culvert, and  rested there. She was still there when  I left.  Although I knew the heron was stalking the babies, I was still very surprised that it ignored
 me and the crowd and grabbed one. As mentioned above, I've put together an 11-minute long video that summarizes this, with the added attraction of video clips showing some of the action.
 That 11-minute video is here.
   

 It took me many hours to compile the above events into this summary. But, I was inspired by what happened on 12/4/2022. After years of observing the herons and alligators sharing the
environment in the park, I was finally able to witness a string of events that-together-answered a question for me. It appears that the herons (and possibly other birds) knew that baby alligators
were in the area. Although the herons performed their usual prospecting behavior in the area, they seemed to pay special attention the vicinity near the baby alligators. It's probable that once
a heron (or herons) learned of the pod, that they'd return to that spot.  But the pod did move, and a heron had to find it.  Aside from seeing the babies (which is hard to do) what else would
alert herons to the presence of a pod of babies?  Well...how do we sometimes locate a pod?  We listen for chirps from the babies.  Babies in a pod chirp intermittently, for various reasons.
As they forage, if they move into the water, or out of the water, if the mother moves--any of these situations (and more) can cause a few chirps here and there. This is not the same as the
chorus of chirps that can happen if something scares the babies. I suspect that an expert hunter-such as a Great Blue Heron-would immediately recognize those chirps and, from some
distance away, it would begin searching for a pod. Now, it seems obvious, although I haven't researched to see if this has been described anywhere "in the literature".  I'd never considered
this in all the years I've been watching them. Now that I see that Great Blue Herons possibly listen for baby alligators, I wonder if Great Blue Herons also use hearing to find Lesser Sirens.  
Sirens are also known to vocalize. I've seen many examples of Herons catching sirens, and have wondered how the herons find them.  I've examples of that on my Great Blue Heron page.
Sirens are generally nocturnal, and stay hidden and submerged during the day, so there must be very little that can be seen from above.

Part 10: On 12/25/2022  There was ICE!  A cold front came through, and I went out to BBSP in the morning. Temperature when I got of out my car was 37°F.  The last 3 pictures below
were taken about 15 minutes later.  The second one below is in 40 Acre Lake.  The 3rd and  4th image below are from Pilant Lake, with the third one near the Observation Tower.  
   

Even though there was ice all around (and even further along the South Side of the Spillway Trail), Pilant Slough near the Observation Tower was unfrozen. I looked for the alligator mom who
had been there--and I found her!  About 8:50am, she was visible under the water, with just her nose exposed to the air. 
   

She didn't move much, just went fully under water for a while and then exposed her nose (I didn't time her). As the morning progressed, many birds began foraging in the mats of floating
plants near the corner. Around 11 am, she rested her head on the bank (I didn't think to get an air temperature reading).
   

She didn't move much, just went fully under water for a while and then exposed her nose (I didn't time her). As the morning progressed, many birds began foraging in the mats of floating
plants near the corner. Around 12:30 pm, she climbed onto the bank for a while. She was back in the water at 3pm, but one of her babies appeared at the surface.
   


And, this page shows alligators at the park, on land, near various landmarks at the park.

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