Alligator

I would like to see more than just the swamps of the world.

The Alligator has been described as 'a living fossil from the Age of Reptiles, having survived on earth for 200 million years'.

An average American alligator's weight and length is 800 lbs (360 kg) and 13 feet (4 m) long, but can grow to 14.5 feet (4.39 m) long[2] and weigh 1000 lbs (454.5 kg)[3]. According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches long (5.3 m), although according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site the Florida state record for length is a 14 foot 5/8 inch male from Lake Monroe in Seminole County. The Florida record for weight is a 1,043 pound (13 feet 10 1/2 inches long) male from Orange Lake in Alachua County. The largest alligator ever recorded in Alabama measured 12 feet 08 inches (3.7 m). The largest alligator ever recorded measured 19 feet 2 inches (5.8 m) and was found on Marsh Island, Louisiana. Few of the giant specimens were weighed, but the larger ones could have exceeded a ton in weight. The Chinese Alligator is smaller, rarely exceeding 7 feet (2 m) in length.

An alligator's lifespan is usually estimated in the range of 50 years or more. A specimen named Muja has resided in the Belgrade Zoo in Serbia since 1937, making it at least 71 years old. Another specimen, Cabulitis, in Riga Zoo, Latvia died in 2007 being more than 72 years old.

Alligators are native to only two countries: the United States and China. In the Southeastern U.S., alligators are found in most freshwater and brackish areas.
Wikipedia.com