ALLIGATOR
BEHAVIOR page 6i: ON LAND; WALKING AND BASKING page 10 page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
This page was born 09/05/2024. Rickubis designed
it. (such as it is.) Last update: 03/18/2025
Images and
contents on this page copyright ©2001-2025 Richard M. Dashnau
Alligators are amphibious (but not
AMPHIBIANS) and are in the water most of the time. Therefore
it is worthy of note when they are on land,
especially
when they are doing more than just absorbing solar energy.
Here is yet another page of terrestrial alligator antics.
02/16/2025
When I
got to the park at 8am, it was
chilly. I didn't note the
temperature, but was comfortable
in many layers of clothes, and
gloves. The sun
came out and the day
started to warm a little. This
alligator had been visible in the
water under the Oak Tree. At about
11am, it decided to cross the
trail. Alligators will
often pause at the near edge
of
the trail once they climb the bank
to get to it. This one did not
stop.
A group of
park visitors watched with me as
it high-walked very slowly across
the trail. The wind rushed by, and
we humans were covered in various
layers of warm clothing.
The wet alligator moving over land
"in this air" really surprised me.
It finally plopped down to rest on
the slope that faced the sun. It
was another great chance to
demonstrate how
to use the trail to estimate
the size of an alligator that
crossed it. The tail is to the
left, and that is my six-foot
stick. The frames show the tip of
the alligator's snout and the tip
of its
tail relative to the edges
of the trail.
So
a reasonable
estimate-compared
with the
6-foot
stick-is that
the alligator
is about 7
feet long. I
took this
temperature
reading right
after the
alligator
crossed: 52
degrees F.
Note the glove
and the sleeve
of my jacket.
The video of
the alligator
doing its high
walk is here.
02/02/2025 Here
are some interesting events
brought about the the very warm
weather (about 70° F after noon)
at Brazos Bend State Park. The
morning was still cool as this
lone alligator cruised in 40-Acre
Lake at 9:00am.
About
11:00 am, an alligator was
cruising in Pilant Lake near the
Elm Lake end of the Spillway
Trail. It stopped at a gap
in the cover, with its snout near
the bank.I waited to
see if it would come up and
cross the trail. It walked
up onto the grass and
rested--which they often do before
they continue across. When
it started to walk, I shot a quick
burst of photos, then went
to video to record its stately
passage across the trail. One of
the watching visitors had asked
the very common question, "How
long is that alligator?"
I had motioned the folks in the
background over when I saw the
alligator come up. Other visitors
came up behind me. Since almost
everyone has at least a camera
phone,
I suggest that everyone pay
special attention to capture when
the alligator's head and tail are
near the edges of the trail.
We're
going to use that image to
estimate the size of this
wonderful animal! Note that when
the alligator's tail was touching
one edge of the trail, its snout
extended *past*
the other edge of the trail. Now
we'll guess the size of this
alligator, with the help of my
"walking staff". It's about 6 feet
(1.8 meters) My staff extends a
little past the center of
the trail, leaving a big gap
to the other side. I prefer lower
estimates, so I'll call that an
additional 4-foot gap. Added to
the original 6 feet of the stick;
that's TEN feet long (and
the alligator's nose
extended past the far edge). So
10-12 feet long ( 3 - 3.6
meters).
WOW!
I had placed the stick where the
alligator had crossed. In the
photos I could verify by checking
this thin line and the "pebble" as
reference. But when I
checked when the
alligator started to cross, I
couldn't find the pebble. I
discovered that the alligator had
"conjured" the object with some
sleight-of-foot. It took me a
while to discover this, so I
am sharing it here. Even though I
was pretty sure I'd placed the
stick properly, I was happy when I
could verify it with the images.
It's easier to see in the edited
video here.
12/22/2024
The morning was a bit cool at Brazos Bend
State park, but a few alligators started moving in Elm Lake around
9am. When I looked at this alligator
cruising towards one of the islands, I noticed that a
Pied-billed Grebe was following it. I've seen Pied-billed Grebes
follow alligators before, and I assume that the Grebes are looking
for prey that might use the slow-moving gator for cover, or prey
that has been flushed out by the passage of the gator. This time, the
alligator submerged as the Grebe approached.
The Grebe waited for the alligator to reappear. While I waited to
see what the Grebe might do; I described the situation to some
park visitors.
While I was distracted, the alligator surfaced, and started back the
way it had come. I shot a few bursts of photos as I talked with the
visitors. The Grebe briefly followed the gator, but lost
interest. Another
Grebe approached from the other direction, but both Grebes lost
interest. The alligator ignored them both..
I did capture
some very
short video, shown
here.
About
30 minutes
later, this
alligator
appeared near
one of the
narrow
"basking
spots" on one
of the
islands. It
was about 300
yards West of
the Grebes
with
Gator.
It's not easy
to tell when
alligators
will
start to come
out to bask.
Water
temperature
compared to
the air
temperature,
along with the
amount of
radiant
sunlight, with
the size and
mass of the
gator--are all
factors that
help determine
if a certain
alligator
will: a)
surface and/or
b) climb out
of the water.
These is the
case if it is
cold, but also
if it is
really warm.
And, as
usual, the
alligators
never tell me
what they're
up to.
11/24/2024,
11/29/2024, 12/01/2024
"Where have all the
alligators gone?",
has been a
common
question from
visitors at
Brazos Bend
State Park
over the last
few
years. We've
experienced
drought
conditions
through 2
summers, and
then we
finally got
good rain
after
hurricane
Beryl in
August, 2024.
The alligators
moved to areas
within the
park that hid
them from our
view. Even
after our
"good" rain,
water levels
in the park
have not gone
back to
normal. But
the plant life
sure came
back! The
lakes become
covered with
floating
plants-mostly
Water
Hyacinth; and
the Giant
Cutgrass has
grown up
around the
shorelines.
The alligators
(and all the
other
wildlife) are
now adjusting
to the
high-density
vegetation,
and fewer good
clear banks
for basking.
I've noticed
cleared areas
starting to
form in spots
that the
alligators
favor. The
tall cutgrass
is still
around them,
so there are
narrow
"viewing
windows" in
the growth
where-if you
look
carefully-you
might see an
alligator
getting some
sun.
11/24/2024
I'd heard
alligator
"croaks" while
I was standing
near pier #7.
I found these
two alligators
soon after.
Alligator
basking spots
became harder
to find after
the rain in
August.
Preferred
basking spots
are open to
sunshine, and
have a gradual
slope for easy
movement out
of the
water.
At this time
of year, the
South sides of
these islands
get sun for
most of
the
day. So
this was a
good basking
spot. One
of the
alligators
seemed
uncomfortable
with sharing,
so it was
making the
croaking
sound. That's
what I'd
heard. Park
visitors also
heard
it, so I only
filmed a
little as I
explained the
situation for
them. I did
capture some
very short
video, shown
here.
We
were on the
trail, about
50 yards away
from the
gators on the
island, so
their sounds
didn't carry
well. The
second gator
was easier to
see when it
moved. It
demonstrated
why they
prefer a
gradual slope
as it eased
out of the
water. Listen
carefully and
you'll hear
the other
gator croak
behind my
voice. (sorry
about
that).
Another
large group of
visitors
appeared so I
gave up on
trying to film
any more.
Another gator
appeared and
changed
everything
around by
trying to
claim the same
spot.
Unfortunately
no photos of
that. But I
got to watch
along with a
large group of
park visitors.
11/29/2024
and
12/01/2024
I found one of
these
"alligator
windows" by
walking about
70 yards East
of Pier #7 and
looking across
at the island.
Two alligators
were there. I
didn't stay
for
long, but took
a few pictures
just to show
the alligators
in the
window.
A week
later, there
were two
alligators
using the same
spot! I'm
pretty sure
that at least
a few
alligators
have
dens dug under
the islands,
and that the
largest
alligators
probably sit
through winter
there. If
conditions
favor any
basking, the
gators just
come up for a
while. If you
compare the
wider view
between 11/29
and 12/01, you
may notice how
much the water
has cleared.
The first
picture shows
the mats of
Water Hyacinth
that are
covering parts
of the lake.
They are
dead or dying,
but still
float. Since
they float,
changes in
wind direction
can blow the
mats from one
side of the
lake to the
other. The
wind had blown
the mats away
during the
week.
08/20/2023
After the second dry summer
in a row, I started watching
an alligator moving through
mud at 9am. It was working
towards the water visible in
the center. It
would move a bit, then rest.
In situations like this, I
wonder what caused the
alligator to move in this
direction. Did it see the
water? Did it remember that
it's usually deeper
this way? Was it
"going downhill"? The
fourth image shows birds (I
think the larger one is a
juvenile Gallinule), moving
easily on the surface of the
mud. I've condensed
about 90 minutes of this
experience into this 10
minute video.
It took 45 minutes to get to
the "water", but it was just
more mud. The alligator
turned and followed the
water towards towards the
deeper part of the lake.
Progress continued
at the same laborious
pace. The alligator
occasionally tried to use
its tail for thrust, but the
mud was too thick to swim
through. I wondered if the
mud was acting like a
"non-newtonian" fluid. That
is, if the alligator moved
slowly it would cause the
mud to become more fluid,
but if it moved quickly, the
mud would become more solid.
In any case, the alligator
had a hard time. The
alligator continued with the
stoic persistence that I
always admire.
While that alligator was
struggling through the mud,
there was more activity in
the remaining puddle a bit
to the North. Two alligators
were chased out of the
puddle by
another alligator.
They moved South, and got up
into the mud.
About 15 minutes later, the
alligator moving through the
mud found more water and the
two alligators that had been
chased. It was obviously
fatigued. The other two
probably
were, also. While "my"
alligator slowly passed the
other two and moved into
more water, another
alligator that was
already in there, moved
towards "my" alligator. The
remaining pool was also
filled with birds, mostly
Common Gallinules. One
hour after I started
watching, the large gator
moved in, passing through
the birds and hyacinth,
and was met by the smaller
alligator. "My"
alligator backed away, even
though it was larger. The
water is usually at
least 4 feet
deep in this area. It was
much shallower here.
The
smaller alligator moved
parallel with the larger
one. There was a long
pause-this often happens in
such confrontations-as they
both evaluated the
situation. The
smaller one moved forward
(while the large one moved
further away), and then
started low growls, with
head raised and tail arched.
Not full bellows, but very
soft croaks or
growls. The large
gator turned back North, and
moved past the croaking
smaller gator. The smaller
gator turned and swam
alongside--as if escorting
the large one to the
edge of the lake. It stopped
and croaked a few more times
as "my" gator continued
North. I assumed that it
would continue to that bank
and cross the trail there.
The small
gator turned west and moved
through the hyacinth.
About 30 minutes later, an
alligator there started
croaking. I'm not sure if it
was the same one that had
been croaking
before, because I lost track
of which one was which as
more alligators moved
around. There were also a
few bellows, but they
stopped before I could catch
them on video.
And,
this page shows alligators at the park, on
land, near various landmarks at the park.
Go back to the main Alligator
page or....
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