On the Road–Part 3

tanjabrittonwriter 64 Comments

Our encounter with the Whooping Cranes was not the only memorable one at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Apart from visiting the observation tower and several boardwalks, we also strolled along the 0.5 mile-short Rail Trail near the Visitor Center. A narrow foot path paralleled and circled Tomas Slough, one of the few freshwater resources on the refuge. It was filled with reeds and other aquatic plants and offered habitat to numerous birds. And reptiles.

Tomas Slough

There were signs telling us to stay out of the water, to not allow dogs in the water, and to remain vigilant. For reptiles. Large reptiles.

We resided in Alaska in the past and grew accustomed to the presence of black and brown bears, trying to remain watchful and making noise in dense vegetation in order not to surprise them and to give them time to walk away when they heard us approach. In Colorado, we also regularly hike in black bear and mountain lion habitat. One gets used to living with top predators in one’s environment after a while, but when one enters an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar top predators who are not mammals, and who are mostly silent, one treads more gingerly. And one can feel the little hairs at the back of the head readying themselves to stand up on end at any given moment.

It didn’t take long for that moment to arrive. When we espied a long structure in the slough, we first thought it was a log. A long log. But upon closer inspection, the log was moving. Very slowly and nearly imperceptibly, but it was definitely moving. What looked like tree bark at first soon morphed into scales, and then we also noticed that the log had an eye. Which was looking at us.

Those hairs at the back our heads were certainly standing at attention now. Our first meeting in the wild with one of the resident reptiles: an American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Seeing one at our local zoo regularly behind a glass wall is one thing. Standing near a large one without any intervening barriers quite another.

American Alligator/Mississippi Alligator

American Alligator/Mississippi Alligator

As we watched the alligator glide through the water with gentle movements of its tail, we pondered how different its lifestyle is from ours. Like most reptiles, as well as most amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, alligators are ectothermic (or cold-blooded) and their body temperature is regulated by outside temperatures. Unlike that of endothermic mammals and birds, who are warm-blooded and maintain a relatively constant temperature with the help of their metabolism.

We also learned the following from an informational sign:

Between April and June, alligators mate and begin to lay eggs. Females build a nest of vegetation that forms a natural incubator. Warmer nest temperatures produce a majority of males, while cooler temperatures primarily produce females. After 65 days, eight-inch hatchlings begin to emit a high pitched croaking sound indicating to the female to dig them out.

This fascinating phenomenon that applies to many reptiles is called temperature-dependent sex determination. Just as fascinating is the fact that the opposite temperature-to-sex relationship is true in turtles.

Informational sign about American Alligators/Informationstafel über Mississippi Alligatoren

It was a good day for viewing alligators, and as we continued our walk, we encountered at least six more. While they certainly knew we were present and kept their eyes on us, just as we kept our eyes on them, they never moved toward us, and often didn’t move at all, apart from blinking their eyelids occasionally. Most were about 10 to 15 yards away.

Those of us who have watched nature movies probably remember scenes showing crocodilians propel themselves like lightning out of the water to seize an unsuspecting animal from the shore, and to drag it back into the murky depth. While this is how alligators capture some prey animals, there are very few unprovoked alligator attacks on humans (online sources vary, but on average, there seem to be fewer than six per year in the US, with most of them occurring in Florida).

American Alligator/Mississippi Alligator

American Alligator/Mississippi Alligator

While we remained attentive during our walk, we never felt threatened. Spending time with these animals that seem prehistoric in many ways added another layer of fascination to our visit at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. As I’m writing these lines near the end of May, I wonder if the next generation of alligators is poised to emerge from their eggs.

American Alligator/Mississippi Alligator. This was the smallest alligator we saw, probably born last year, or the year before. It was also the closest, about five yards away.

This is part 3 of a series of posts about our road trip to Texas.

For part 1, click here.

For part 2, click here.

64 thoughts on “On the Road–Part 3”

  2. Happy sightings. We were seeing the same animal in the Everglades.

    You may know that the English word alligator comes from Spanish el lagarto, meaning ‘the lizard.’ I guess of all possible lizards, this one got singled out for the name because of its size.

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    • I associate Florida more with alligators than Texas, maybe because they are getting more (bad) press in the former.
      After seeing their size, I can relate to why they are called THE LIZARD.

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  3. Hi, Mrs. Tanja-

    What a treat to be able to see so many alligators up close!!
    Having had a similar encounter, I know that this can be a scary time!
    These reptiles are so interesting.
    in Louisiana, a small tourist center allows visitors the opportunity to hold a baby alligator which I have partaken of.
    Thank you for the photos and information! 🐊

    -Gavin

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  5. A little spooky, aren’t they. Jan and I have encountered multiple ‘gators in the wild in South Carolina on our winter escape trips. We expect to see them in swamps and murky water environments. But to see them along sidewalks, busy roads and backyards is something else completely. Luckily, we usually see them in February when they are as slow as molasses. You did capture all of the creepiness of how silent alligators can be. One moment they aren’t there, and the next they are . . . watching you. Thanks for sharing your road trip adventures Tanja.

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    • They definitely put us on alert, Brad. I’m not sure how I would feel having them walk across sidewalks and through yards. I’m glad I don’t live where they do. I’m glad for the experience, but I have no desire to deepen our acquaintance.

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  6. Tanja, seeing an alligator at such a close range must have shocked youa little, even though you had plenty of experience with dangerous wild life in Alaska and Colorado.

    In our area we have cougars, black bears and grizzly bears. We have learned to keep our distance and with cow bells make our presence known to them.

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    • Thank you for your comment, Peter. I’m not surprised that you can relate to spending time in bear and cougar habitat, considering where you live. Somehow those animals don’t seem as threatening to me as alligators, but that might be because we are more used to them.

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    • Das ist wirklich eine gute Idee mit den Kuhglocken 🌞 hier, in der Lüneburger Heide, gibt es gelegentlich Schlangen. Als Kinder sind wir deswegen nicht gegangen sondern „gestampft“ … 🐑 man sieht Schlangen hier extrem selten. Wahrscheinlich zu viele Menschen in ihrem Terrain.

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      • In Alaska, many people wear bear bells on their backpacks while hiking in bear habitat (which is basically everywhere). They are smaller than cow bells and tinkle more gently, but the sound is definitely audible to bears and, it is hoped, deters, rather than attracts them.

        Snakes are a little harder to deal with–one would basically have to stomp with each step and then wait a while before taking another step. We do have rattlesnakes here in Colorado and try to watch where we step, and where we sit down.

        Luckily, both bear and snake attacks are relatively rare, considering how many people invade their habitats at any given time.

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  9. Yeah, you don’t mess with the gators! I loved your write up to recognizing that the log wasn’t a log at all!

    Aransas Wildlife Refuge is a special place. I haven’t been there since I was a teen, but I recall visiting there on school field trips and my oldest brother is a biologist, and naturalist, so I remember going with him. Sadly, I don’t think I ever took my kids when we’d visit Corpus. I wonder why we didn’t do that?

    Glad you had such a successful trip and thanks for taking us along!

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    • Thank you, Tina. I’m glad we were able to see gators during this trip, but I don’t think they will replace birds in my list of favorite animals. 😊

      I imagine that it would have been special to visit Aransas NWR as a teenager, though I likely would not have appreciated it as much as I did now.

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  10. You have to know how much I loved this post. First of all, that bridge you crossed as you began walking the trail is where I was standing when I sighted my first bullfrog. And, yes: that slough was rich in alligators. A couple of tidbits might interest you. One is that crocodiles are far more aggressive than alligators; the name is Crocodile Dundee, after all. On the other hand, our wade fishermen are cautious as can be around them. Keeping your catch on a stringer’s not a wise move.

    One tip I was given a few years ago involves estimating the length of a submerged gator. If you estimate the distance in inches from a point midway between its eyes to midway between its nostrils, you’ll know approximately how long the creature is. One inch equals one foot: six inches from eyes to nose, and you have a six-foot gator.

    I love seeing the babies. The mama gator often will carry hatchlings to the water in her mouth — quite a gentle thing for an apex predator to do! The young will stay around the mother for quite a while; she protects them from threats that include male gators. And when the young just want to hang out, they climb aboard their mother’s back for a snooze in the sunshine.

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    • Thank you, Linda. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post.

      It’s fun to know you can visualize exactly where we were and what we saw. I’m pretty sure we heard bullfrogs there, but I don’t think we saw any.

      The tip about how to estimate a gator’s size is helpful to know, just to get an idea.

      To watch some young alligators emerge and be handled by Mama would be fascinating. I really enjoyed the photo you linked to in your second comment, thank you.

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  12. What a thrilling and beautifully written account! The way you described that moment of realizing the “log” was actually an alligator gave me goosebumps. It’s fascinating how calmly you observed them while respecting their space—and learning about temperature-dependent sex determination was a bonus! Your comparisons to encounters with predators in Alaska and Colorado added great depth. Looking forward to the next chapter in your Texas road trip!

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    • Thank you for your comment, Laurie, I hope the photos didn’t make you feel too uncomfortable!
      I’m glad we had the experience but I won’t miss having to pay close attention to large reptiles crossing our paths!

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      • I think there is some surviving primeval fear of snakes in many people. This made me think of a scene in a Charlie Brown cartoon in which Lucy lists all the different phobias. Turns out, the fear of snakes is ophidiophobia. This might come in handy during a Jeopardy question one of these days. 😊

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  14. I grew up in FL and when I was about 20, I was playing golf with my friend in a course so far west it was almost in the Everglades. I sliced a ball off into waist-high weeds near a pond. You’re allowed 5 min to look for a ball, I was using my club to look here and there. Finally my buddy whistles and points at his watch. I turn to leave and almost where I was standing, there was this thrashing and a gator easily 10-11’ long whips around and slides into the pond. Geez… talk about the hair on your neck standing up 😨

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  16. Es ist so spannend, ich lese jetzt schon zum zweiten Mal. Wir gingen all diese Wege auch und sahen auch Alligatoren, aber nicht so viele wie in Floridas Sümpfen. Boots, den alten einsamen Alligator haben wir auch gesehen beim Leonabelle Birdwatching. Texas ist sehr schön. Mir war das nicht bewußt, nicht bevor ich selber dort war.
    Liebe Grüße
    MAren

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  18. I still get excited when I see an alligator even if they are commonly seen hereabouts. Magnificent and primeval animals. I remember see kittens playing around an alligator at a fish restaurant in Cajun country. Guess he preferred fish to kitten…

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  19. Hello Tanja,
    I can imagine how the hairs must have stood at full attention when you realized the alligator was looking a you with its stunning eye! It must have been an unforgettable experience and I’m glad you and your husband could share these moments together. I hope the baby ‘gators’ are born and happily riding on Mum’s back at this time…☺️

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    • I don’t know about brave. If these gators had been aggressive, I’m sure all the signs would have told us to refrain from walking there; instead, they just cautioned us to practice common sense.
      As a fellow blogger pointed out, crocodiles seem to be more aggressive, so I probably wouldn’t want to get too close to them either!

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  23. They’re awe-inspiring animals, totally alien and yet – thanks mainly to movies and the media – strangely familiar too. I can see that you enjoyed good sightings, and your photos will help preserve the memories forever. Great stuff!

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  24. Ah, the mainstay of any Texas visit, the gator! I am much more comfortable around them based on all of our years going down there, but it still makes my heart skip a beat when I get a “late” recognition of one of those big uns nearby. I almost stepped on the head of one not paying attention while in Georgia one year (being stupid and walking with my eye to the camera). Never had an issue with one even when we found a mother sitting among her multitude of newborns. What I have been told over and over by the locals is they will launch out of the water for a pet dog so we are extra careful when the boys are along. Wait until you get to witness one of those prehistoric animals put on the rockets — like bison, they are far faster than you would expect.

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  26. I’ve never seen an alligator in the wild, but it would make me very uneasy as well. As you said, it’s the unfamiliarity with them. That’s so interesting about the effects of temperature. I’ve heard that in turtles but didn’t know it applied to other animals. I wonder why it’s the case, and also why it’s opposite between those two animals.

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    • Thank you for all your visits and comments, Diana.

      I’m glad we had the opportunity to see alligators in the wild but I won’t necessarily have to seek similar experiences in the future, whereas I will always seek for more opportunities to look for birds.

      Temperature-dependent sex determination is a fascinating phenomenon. One wonders what the advantage is for some of the species to whom it applies. What is clear, though, is that climate change poses a threat as it might endanger the survival of certain species by affecting this mechanism (apart from all the other negative effects).

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  29. […] lizard, the Green Anole, featured with its prominent dewlap in the photo above, as well as with the respect-filled encounter with the American Alligator. We regularly saw turtles but only caught one glance of an amphibian, the handsome Leopard […]

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