Photos

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

American alligators are one of only two species worldwide. The other, nearly extinct, is the Yangtze alligator of China. At 130 million years, alligators predate many of the dinosaurs, as do most of their saurian cousins.

This 10-footer followed us for about thirty yards as we walked along a footbridge across his marsh. While 'gators rarely attack humans, much preferring smaller prey that is easier to handle, one this size could easily take and kill an adult. Fortunately, they don't eat often and are singularly uninterested in much of anything when not hungry. I think this one was feeling a bit peckish though. At that, I've probably eaten more 'gators than he has people.

I posted a good shot of a Florida Banded Water Snake over at TrekNature. Might take a look. This is reptile day.

Unfortunately I opened this image in the wrong program and wiped the EXIM data, but I'm gonna say it was 1/200 @ f4.5, ISO 400, and I know I was zoomed all the way at 65.5 mm (420 mm equivalent). Cropped and re-sized.