Do alligators ever leave freshwater lakes and rivers to go onto land or into the ocean?
A. Alligators leave drying freshwater habitats to travel overland during droughts, and males move between bodies of water in search of mates during the spring and to avoid confrontations with larger male alligators. Alligators will enter saltwater habitats on occasion and have even been found a mile or more out to sea. They do not live in the ocean but can tolerate saltwater for hours or even days without a problem. Q. How big do the largest alligators get? A. Alligators indisputably can reach lengths of more than 13 feet and weigh more than 700 pounds. In a study done in Florida from 1977 to 1993, the largest male alligator reported was 14 feet long, and the largest female was 10 feet, 2 inches. An alligator that was killed and left in a Louisiana marsh in the early 1900s was estimated to be over 19 feet long. However, the Louisiana record has long been disputed, and the largest size verified for an alligator from anywhere, based on a statistical analysis of skulls, skins, and live an
