Crocodiles and Alligators

Alligators (first three pictures) and crocodiles (last picture) are two of the most ancient reptiles on the planet. Alligators generally prefer fresh water and crocodiles prefer salt water. The crocodile has an efficient, four-chamber heart. Alligators have three-chambered hearts. Alligators are no longer on the endangered list; crocodiles are. Florida established alligator farms to raise alligators for meat and skins. That move saved the alligator.

Both crocs and alligators are carnivores and opportunistic feeders. They are both cannibalistic. They can go for a week or more without feeding. They are cold-blooded and maintain suitable body temperature by being in or out of the water or buried in mud. Crocs are the more aggressive predator of the two.

Crocs are grayish or green; alligators are black. Both can get quite large--12 feet or more--and both can live into their fifties. One can judge the length of either by estimating distance from the eye to the nose ridge. That distance in inches will tell you total length in feet. Both have extremely powerful jaws. The muscles which close the jaws provide bone-crushing strength. However, one can prevent an alligator from opening its mouth by holding it closed with one's hands. A croc's lower teeth are visible while an alligator's are not visible when the mouth is closed.