A is for Alligator

American Alligator
Brazos Bend State Park
Needville, Texas

One of the best places to see an alligator in the wild is just a few miles from my house at Brazos Bend State Park. According to this article, it is home to 300 American alligators . With numbers like that, it's a guarantee you'll see at least one gator and most likely several as you walk the trail around Forty-Acre Lake.

Did You Know?....

• The sex of the juveniles is determined by the temperature of the nest: above 93° F all are male, below 86° F all are female, and temperatures in between will produce both sexes.
• American alligators can live to about 50 years in the wild. After it is four feet long, an alligator is safe from predators except humans and occasionally other alligators.
• Alligators can tolerate salt water for only brief periods because they do not have salt glands.

That last fact makes me feel a little better about kayaking in the salt water marsh. Read more facts here.

Thanks to Vicki for hosting ABC-Along 2008. Sign-up details can be found here and here. Every two weeks I'll post a photo representing a letter of the alphabet.

See ya later, alligator! (I couldn't resist.)