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News Articles: Alligators

A mysterious congregation of alligators was recorded in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, and researchers are trying to figure out what caused the rarely witnessed occurrence. Marty Welch video screengrab

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

‘There’s gators everywhere.’ Mass alligator gathering investigated in Georgia canal

A rarely witnessed congregation of American alligators was recorded in southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, and researchers are trying to figure out why it happened.

July 24, 2024
|
By:
  • Mark Rice
This photo provided by Tony Cavallaro shows his alligator, Albert, inside the custom enclosure he built for the reptile in his house in Hamburg, N.Y. The alligator was seized by the Department of Environmental Conservation in mid-March.

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

A New York man's pet alligator was seized after 30 years. Now, he wants Albert back

The owner of a 12-foot alligator recently seized by conservation officers is fighting for its return, saying the reptile he has shared a home with is a gentle giant that's no danger to anyone.

March 20, 2024
|
By:
  • GPB Newsroom
The alligator Hall County Sheriff's Office police found in a pond.

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

Hall County Sheriff’s Office finds alligator in pond

A Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputy came across an adult alligator near a pond at Allen Creek Road.

March 07, 2024
|
By:
  • Ambria Burton
A stunned iguana lies on the sidewalk after having fallen from a tree on Jan. 6, 2010, in Surfside, Fla. Very cold temperatures can stun the invasive reptiles into a state called brumation. But the iguanas won't necessarily die.

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Brumation and torpor: How animals survive cold snaps by playing dead-ish

Social media was recently taken aback watching as alligators in freezing weather appeared to go into a deep sleep to stay alive. They're not alone. Iguanas and hummingbirds do it too.

February 14, 2024
|
By:
  • Vanessa Romo
During the winter months, American alligators go into a state of brumation, the cold-blooded version of hibernation.

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Texas cold leaves alligators 'frozen' underwater, but still alive. Here's how

Alligators rely on external sources to regulate their body temperatures — so during winter, they will go into brumation. A viral video captured the phenomenon during the Texas winter freeze.

January 26, 2024
|
By:
  • Diba Mohtasham
Joie Henney and his emotional support alligator, Wally, were denied entry to a Phillies' game at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday — but hope to be invited back soon.

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Wally the emotional support alligator went to see the Phillies. Then he went viral

Wally doesn't bite, loves hugs and has a sizeable social media following. He made headlines (again) for being denied entry to a baseball stadium — but his owner tells NPR that's not the full story.

September 29, 2023
|
By:
  • Rachel Treisman
Camera sent into gopher tortoise burrow discovers an alligator is hiding inside, Georgia biologists say. Georgia Wildlife Resources Division photo

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Stunned biologist looks into tortoise hole to see alligator ‘smiling back’ in Georgia

Beware of turtle holes in Georgia — because they could be hiding large alligators, the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division says. That discovery was made the hard way when biologists studying gopher tortoises peeped into a seemingly innocent burrow in Tattnall County, about 60 miles west of Savannah.

March 24, 2023
|
By:
  • Mark Rice
Doc's skull. UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant

Tagged as: 

  • News

Researchers recover skeleton of Doc, an 11-foot alligator, deep in Okefenokee Swamp

Months after the GPS tracker on the alligator, named Doc, stopped sending locations, researchers with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant found 60% of his skeleton more than 14 miles into the refuge.

March 06, 2023
|
By:
  • Devon Zwald
An alligator sleeps submerged in nighttime water

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Large, eerie shadows lurking below surface of Georgia’s blackwater swamps are alive

Winter is an eerie time in Georgia’s blackwater swamps, and among the strangest of sights are the large shadows often seen lurking just inches below the murky surface — alligators participating in seasonal underwater napping.

January 05, 2023
|
By:
  • Mark Rice
Gator with open mouth

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Swamp mystery: Alligators missing many of their teeth in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp

A mystery is afoot in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, and it involves fully grown alligators who are missing a lot of their teeth.

April 05, 2022
|
By:
  • Mark Rice
The team at Coastal Ecology Lab collects tissue samplings of the hatchlings.

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Okefenokee Welcomes 25 Alligator Hatchlings

The Coastal Ecology Lab and its project partners, Okefenokee Swamp Park, welcomed new life on Monday in the form of 25 alligator babies.

September 14, 2021
|
By:
  • Allexa Ceballos
Alligator submerged in water

Tagged as: 

  • Animals

Spotlight In Georgia Swamp Reveals Alligator Hiding Just Inches Away

A group of Georgia biologists was catching alligators for a genetics study when they decided to focus their spotlight on the water surface. It was then they saw a large alligator sitting perfectly still, its rough skin blending with the muddy water.

May 19, 2021
|
By:
  • Mark Rice
An array of edible insect options from the Eating Insects Athens Conference.

Critter Chat: Edible Insects In Athens And Alligators In Okefenokee Swamp

A bug in your food is not usually considered a good thing, but what if it was there on purpose? The United Nations reports around two billion people...

September 18, 2018
|
By:
  • Elena Rivera and
  • Virginia Prescott
Okefenokee Alligator "Sassy Sally" has a satellite tracker attached to her so researchers can learn from her movements.

Alligators Tweet, Wear Trackers To Help People Learn

It’s not hard to meet a gator in Georgia. Waterways in South Georgia are full of them. But there’s a lot we don’t know about these big reptiles. GPB’s...

September 10, 2018
|
By:
  • Emily Jones

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