Alligators - Information and art for kids
We will continue today looking at some facts on specific animals. Today we will look at an animals that comes from the prehistoric times, when there were dinosaurs, has many teeth and is a reptile.
You guessed it....an alligator.
- An alligator and a crocodile is NOT the same thing. A crocodile is much bigger. Can you find some more differences between these two? If you do not do your own research, you can find information here.
- Draw a column in which you make a summary of the differences - ask an adult to help if you are struggling.
As we said alligators are reptiles like geckos and lizards and snakes - this mean they are coldblooded and cannot regulate their body temperature like warmblooded animals can. They need to sit in the sun to warm themselves up and when they get too hot the need to go in the shade.
Cold-blooded animals, like reptiles, amphibians, and fish, become hotter and colder, depending on the the temperature outside. For example, when the sun sets at night, their bodies are cooler because it is less warm outside. When the sun is out, however, their bodies soak up the heat and become warmer.
You can read more about the differences between cold and warm blooded animals here.
Since alligators have live on earth for millions of years, some people refer to them as 'living fossils'. Other animals that lived long ago, like the dinosaurs, you can only see their fossils now, but the alligators are still alive.
There are two types of alligators. The American alligator which is found in parts of America like Florida and then you also get the Chinese alligator which is found in the Yangtze River, but they are endangered and there are only a few left in the wild.
You can read more here about the two types of alligators and how they differ from one another.
- What is your feeling about how many animals are endangered and how some humans treat nature?
Some people do tricks with alligators and it looks very impressive if they hold the alligator's mouth close with their bare hands, but the truth is, the muscles that opens the mouth of an alligator are very weak. The strong ones are the ones than closes the mouth. It needs to be strong that the alligator can easily slam its mouth close when catching its prey.
The alligator hunts and eats a variety of meat and it can vary from birds and fish to deer.
The female alligator lies her eggs in the ground, The temperature of the ground will determine if it will be male or female alligators that hatch. If the temperature is warm it will be male and if it is colder it will be female.
Alligators are hunted for their skin and meat. People use the skin to make belts, boots and wallets and can get quite a lot of money for it. Some people also enjoy eating the alligator meat.
- Lets get creative. You can either draw a picture of an alligator or make an alligator mask or you can watch the video for an idea.
