A New Denizen of the Bayou!

Just a month ago, I was lamenting the fact that I had not seen our local Bayou Gator. I was afraid that it had met some terrible fate. Then one evening of late, there she was! She kept her distance as usual but had made her presence known. Needless to say, I was elated! Gator had returned and she was still healthy.

This evening, Hubby and I went to the pier to cool off after a long, hot day. A nice afternoon thundershower had just passed through and the slight west wind made the pier a pleasant place to linger for a bit. I was busy taking pictures of a paddling of Mottled Ducks and a lone egret when I first noticed something swimming toward the pier. It was in about eighteen inches of water and was barely noticeable above the ripples. At first, I had a hard time figuring out just what was approaching..could it be a nutria rat?...maybe a very large moccasin?..or perhaps just a tree branch that was caught up in the current? I asked Hubby..he gave me the same three answers that I was pondering. So, knowing that my camera would pick up things that were obscured by the sun's glare, I started snapping pictures of the "unknown". After a bit, when it eased closer still, I came to realize that this was an alligator. What threw me off was the fact that this was so small! Gator was quite large..maybe about eight feet in length. When this gator was maybe thirty feet from the pier, I could see that it was only about two and a half to three feet in length. A baby gator! Now I know where Gator has been every Spring! Gator..aka..Mama Gator..has been nesting in the Bayou! This little fellow has to be from last Spring but I am quite sure Mama Gator has been busy guarding the current nest!

An alligator nest is usually a mound built in the marsh or on the edge of the shore quite near the water. Here Mama Gator will lay anywhere from twenty to fifty white eggs. Each egg is about the size of a goose egg. She will cover these eggs with a thick layer of vegetation that will incubate the eggs. Mama Gator will hang around the nest for the full sixty-five day incubation period protecting the eggs from any intruders. Raccoons, otters, skunks and foxes would love to eat the alligator eggs. Even the herons and egrets will make a meal of the eggs if Mama Gator is away hunting. After sixty-five days are up, the eggs start to hatch and the little ones "chirp" to let Mama Gator know it is time to dig them out. She will gingerly pick the babies up and bring them to the water. She knows that the sooner they are in the water, they will be safer from marauding predators. For a while, she will continue to protect them, but does not feed them. They can hunt on their own from the start..feeding on minnows, insects and small crabs. They will stay near Mama Gator for about a year before venturing off on their own.

This young gator has not learned to be wary of humans as much as it should and that could cause problems eventually. I have a feeling that this little varmint is what has been raiding my crab traps of bait each night. If so, it has found an easy meal and that will not be good. Hopefully, it will learn from Mama Gator that it should keep its distance.