Where do alligators in Texas go during the winter? As a reptile, the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis for those who already know the answer, needs to find protection from freezing temperatures.
Granted, the coastal areas don’t often get below 41.2 degrees Fahrenheit, the average low temperature in January for the Houston area. Freezing temperatures on the coast do happen. The record low for Orange, on the coast 100 miles north of Houston, is 11 degrees. Corpus Christi was blanketed in 4.4 inches of snow on Christmas Day in 2004. So where do these creatures with the wicked smile go when Jack Frost comes nipping at their snouts?
Amos Cooper, head of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s alligator program and assistant manager at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area outside of Port Arthur, says I needn’t worry about the thousands of alligators that inhabit the Texas coast from Louisiana to the Rio Grande. “The big males dig a den in the mud, and the females build a nest,” he says. Alligators don’t truly hibernate during the winter. “On a warm, sunny day in January, you’ll see them out on the river bank sunning themselves,” Cooper says.
The American alligators’ range stretches from North Carolina to the Rio Grande. Cooper says I-35 roughly marks the western edge of their territory. They prefer freshwater but can tolerate saltwater for short periods. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike’s landfall in September 2008, hundreds of the reptiles died due to saltwater contamination.
Most of the coastal wildlife preserves in Texas have alligators. Brazos Bend State Park southwest of Houston has a large colony that can often be seen sunning themselves near the trails. Cooper estimates that the 24,250-acre Murphree WMA has approximately 10,000 alligators.
Texas alligators were nearly eliminated until they were protected in 1969. The reptiles were taken off the endangered list in 1985. Harvesting wild alligators is allowed during two annual hunting seasons. There are 22 licensed alligator farms in the state, Cooper says.
By nature, alligators keep shy of humans. “They have to have a reason to attack,” Cooper says. Problems arise when humans create encounters with the beasts that can grow up to 16 feet long and weigh over a thousand pounds. The biggest mistake is feeding them.
“A fisherman throws fish guts in the water, and the next thing he knows, there’s a hungry alligator looking for more,” Cooper says. He has even seen restaurants feed scraps to alligators and then wonder why they have problems with aggressive alligators.
Cooper says the males are most aggressive during the March to May breeding season and females are most protective during the June to August nesting season. Even the largest males move quickly on land for short distances, Cooper says. “It’s the five- to six-footers that are the fastest,” he says. His advice is to give them lots of space.
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This article appears in December 4 • 2009.
