Does georgia have alligators or crocodiles. There are approximately 200000 250000 alligators in the state of georgia. Crocodiles preferring saltwater or brackish habitats are found in coastal areas. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists and state wildlife agencies alligators were listed as endangered in 1967.
Alligators have wide u shaped snouts while the snouts of crocodiles are v shaped. As for alligators it would be extremely rare to see one in atlanta as it is far north and a little higher in elevation. Crocodiles also frequently live in canals close to the turkey point power plant in homestead florida quite close to.
It is extremely rare for people to see these crocodiles much less to have any interaction with them. The majority of georgias alligators are found in the largest freshwater refuge east of the mississippi river the okefenokee swamp. Crocodiles in florida live mostly in everglades and biscayne national parks.
This status combined with proactive management and law enforcement efforts by. Some crocodiles prefer to live in saltwater habitats while alligators most often have freshwater homes. Due to loss of habitat and unregulated market hunting alligators were reduced to low numbers by the early 1900s.
Alligators are mainly found in freshwater regions including swamps ponds or rivers and occasionally brackish water. These are some very timid reptiles after all. This difference explains why crocodiles have managed to spread across the islands of the caribbean and alligators havent.
However alligators have rounded snouts while most crocodile species have longer pointed snouts. The american alligator alligator mississippiensis is a conservation success story. In georgia they typically live along and south of the fall line which roughly traverses the cities of columbus macon and augusta.
You could see one in savannah as they do inhabit along the coast as far north as north carolina where youll find the alligator river. Georgias alligator hunting season lasts from august 17 to october 8 and can be trapped by nuisance alligator trappers contracted through the state so most alligators wont live long enough to. Alligators also have these glands but they dont work as well so they usually stick to freshwater habitats although they can sometimes be found in brackish water a mixture of salt and freshwater.
Though they live in refuge wetlands year round the best time for viewing alligators around the wildlife drive is during spring and fall when temperatures are mild. A member of the crocodile family the american alligator is a living fossil from the age of reptiles having survived on earth for 200 million years.