Approximately 18-19" in length 

This scaly boy is a remnant of an age long gone and is the closest thing we have (until someone decides to pull a Jurassic Park, which honestly feels imminent) to dinosaurs walking the Earth. The American alligator as we know it today didn’t live alongside the dinosaurs, but its ancestors absolutely did. Alligators belong to a group called archosaurs, which includes both modern crocodilians and extinct dinosaurs. The American alligator itself showed up more recently—around 6 to 8 million years ago—but it's part of a lineage that’s basically shrugged off multiple mass extinction events. Considering how most creatures fared during those times, it’s an absolute wonder these are still around today.

Probably the most defining feature of the American alligator is its gigantic jaws. Not only are they massive, but the power behind them is incredible. They can slam shut their toothy mouth with about 2,000 pounds of force—easily enough to crack bone. Once a gator gets its prey in its mouth, it’s pretty much game over. Oddly enough, the evolution of this incredible bite force is a one-way street. While closing their jaws is powerful, opening them is surprisingly weak. They don’t have strong muscles for opening, so their mouths can actually be held shut with rope or even duct tape. But please—do not test this yourself.

Alligators use their jaws for more than just snapping up dinner. Female alligators will carry their newborn babies in their mouths to protect them from predators. It’s actually well-documented that they’re great moms. Not only do they guard their young after birth, but they also build nests and fiercely protect them while the babies are still in the eggs.

Another quirk of these ancient reptiles is how they handle winter. In some places where they thrive, the weather can get cold enough to freeze over their watery homes. You’d think that would be a problem for a cold-blooded reptile—but nope. Alligators survive freezing temperatures by going into a state called brumation, which is basically reptile hibernation. They’ll chill at the bottom of ponds or stay tucked into burrows, slowing their metabolism way down. In some spots, you can even see their snouts sticking up through the ice while they wait for warmer weather to return.

It’s just one more remarkable thing about these ancient reptiles still living among us.

During the ’60s, the American alligator was hunted to near extinction. Thanks to protective laws and wildlife preserves, their numbers have rebounded greatly. Today, it’s estimated that there are 3 to 4 million alligators living in the wild. These specimens were ranched gators raised for food, not taken from the wild.