American alligator Facts for Kids

The alligator is a big reptile with a wide, rounded snout. It lives in swamps and rivers. A mother alligator builds a nest of plants and stays close by.

An alligator's snout is wide and U-shaped, while a crocodile's is longer and more pointed. Its eyes and nostrils sit on top of its head, so it can float with most of its body hidden in the water. When the babies chirp from inside their eggs, the mother opens the nest and helps them out.

American alligators are reptiles, so they warm up by basking in the sun and cool off in the water. Their swamp pools, called gator holes, hold water through dry spells and give fish, turtles and birds a place to stay. The warmth of the nest decides whether the eggs hatch into males or females. Alligators became rare in the past because of hunting, but laws that protected them let them recover, and now they are a conservation success story.