Alligators are fascinating creatures and I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to observe them daily.
Really odd things are found in the stomachs of alligators. I'm not surprised when they find golf balls, because to an alligator it probably looks like a bird's egg. Why one would eat a plastic toy or a sandal, I'm not sure.
One eyelid covers the eye when the alligator swims underwater. He can see through this eyelid, but it protects the eye. The second set of eyelids are ones the alligator can close when it is sleeping.
The female alligator makes a nest to lay the eggs in and covers the eggs with sticks and leaves to form a mound. The eggs incubate inside this mound. The mother alligator stays around to protect the nest.
It does happen. If you want a year-by-year listing of where and how many people alligators kill, take a look at the Wikipedia article on the topic.
The record in Florida for the longest alligator was 14 feet, 3 1/2 inches. From my own experience, we usually see five to 8 feet ones in the small lakes around where I live. When an alligator gets too large for a lake, it moves on to a bigger lake where there's more food.
I never knew all those facts about alligators. We don't see many here in Montana. ;-)
I'd like to have 2 sets of eyelids for swimming!
select one here...