If you live in southern louisiana chances are at some time in your life, you are going to have one of several things visit either in your home or in your yard. One of the visitors that I would like to tell you a little about is the alligator. After reading this article, I hope that you understand the habits of the Louisiana alligator.

Alligators have existed for millions of years and at one time were ten times larger

than our largest alligator today. Female alligators do not usually grow over 8 feet in length.

Male and female alligators

mate belly to belly. A female builds a nest, lays her eggs in it and guards it until the eggs are hatched. The female is very protective of the nest, and you should use extreme caution if you come upon a nesting gator. If she builds the nest in a shaded area, the young gators will be predominantly females. If she builds

her nest in an open sunny area, the young gators will be predominantly male. The female gator lays about 40 eggs.

Alligators usually have 80 teeth, and a crocodiles have 120 teeth. Probably the largest alligator you could find today is about 14 feet. A crocodile grows to over 20 feet. Alligators have over 100 different types of bacteria in their mouths. Years ago, one of my part-time jobs was wrestling alligators at an amusement park in Hammond. I was bitten by a large alligator and spent two weeks in the hospital from the injury. It took the hospital three days to find out what type of bacteria I had in the wound so they could get the right antibiotic to treat the infection aggressively.

If you have ever been on the river and noticed an alligator

on the bank, and you think that they are sunning themselves, you are partially correct. Alligators do not have a digestive system and lay in the sun

to heat their body, thus causing the food to ferment. Alligators do not chew their food; it is swallowed whole. They do

not eat during the winter months and hibernate. Their body temperature drops very low, and they only have to breathe a few times a day due to the heart rate slowing down. Alligator’s eyes shine a bright red at night, and they have two lenses. One lens covers the eye when they go underwater, just as a scuba diving mask does for us.

The St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office receives calls everyday about alligators in someone’s yard or pond. The reason for so many residents of the parish seeing alligators at this time of year is the gators are in mating season, and they are moving around. The State of Louisiana has what they call a nuisance catcher. This person is a

trained individual with knowledge about gators and allowed by Wildlife and Fisheries

to catch them. Over the years, the catcher would get the hide and the meat for coming out and catching the gator. The price of the alligator hides has dropped so low that it was not worth the catcher’s time to go out to catch the nuisance gators. Recently the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has changed the law to pay the catcher $30. If the catcher is called out and the alligator is 6 feet or under, the catcher is paid by the person making the request. If the gator is over 6 feet there is no charge.

Come visit Louisiana Treasures Museum and see the 10-foot mounted alligator and learn more about the Louisiana alligator.

Wayne Norwood is a lieutenant with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Department and owner and operator of the Louisiana Trreasures Museum located at 10290 Highway 22, West Pontchatoula.