Another difference is the frequency of sightings - An Alligator will be "seen later", while a Crocodile will usually reappear "after a while".
51
I believe a more important difference is there metabolic scopes. If you will forgive a crude analogy from someone with experience with American crocodiles and alligators, alligators are a hand saw and crocodiles are a Stihl chain saw. Very different creatures
24
Well thank you, Mr. St. Fleur. Very interesting.
Every now and then, I read an article like this. And run into some little phrase that no one but me bothers to notice. But I DO notice it--with a chill of horror. And the little phrase in THIS article was:
"Small crocodiles that BOUND and GALLOP."
Form the picture in your mind. The creatures (as depicted at the top) are far from lovely. People love birds--oh yes. Or deer. Or gazelles. The larger cats--deadly, oh yes! but beautiful in their way. Elephants--dangerous, oh yes! but imposing. Majestic.
But crocodiles? And alligators? I'm sorry, Mr. St. Fleur but these are the creatures of nightmares. Maybe a small, select few dote upon them. I have never met those people. I resolutely refuse to dote upon them myself.
AND NOW. . . .
. . .we have crocodiles (not alligators, thank the Lord) that BOUND and GALLOP.
I already knew the creatures could move quickly. Most animals (being four-footed) can easily outpace human beings.
But the BOUNDING and the GALLOPING!
It is now 10:40 PM. I will soon be headed for bed.
I leave you to imagine, Mr. St. Fleur, what animals I will discern bounding and galloping along in the murk of my dreams.
Thanks, Mr. St. Fleur. Sleep tight.
81
The pictures should have been from the front, with both animals facing the same way; otherwise, it is is hard to follow the descriptions.
83
The main difference being crocodiles have a better sense of humer than alligators. (Dad joke.)
42
It's funny that two pictures with captions noting key differences - snouts while facing front and teeth - has the snouts sideways and one guy has its mouth closed!
48
The alligators are less aggressive. We go to Brazos Bend Park near Houston and in the early spring, see many alligators basking in the sun. You can walk by and they don’t come after you.
16
I was told that alligators are native to North America and crocs are from South America. True?
1
Not really. There are native crocodiles that come into North America (one even ranges into the southern tip of Florida). And there's an alligator species in China, so they're not restricted to North America, either.
17
There are two species of alligator, which are native to North America and China. Crocodiles are native to tropics throughout the world.
21
Alligators are native to North America, but there's a species native to China, also. And crocs are found all over the world.
8
Extant dinosaurs. Nature is absolutely amazing.
5
No, they are reptiles not dinosaurs!
10
Dinosaurs are reptiles.
12
Birds are the direct descendants of dinosaurs. Observe their leg construction.
17
As someone who worked as a zoo professional for 15 years, mostly in herpetological departments, I would say that yes both alligators and crocodiles can be dangerous in the wild but for the most part I have found alligators to be much more docile in temperament than most species of crocodiles. I do resent the author's use of the word "sinister" to describe the reptilian snout. Would you use this word to describe a domestic dog's snout? Technically you should since dogs maim and kill way more humans per year in this country than all the crocodilians combined.
99
Agreed, the word "sinister" has no place in a scientific article.
43
Dear The New york times,
I thought this was very intersting from a scientific point of viewpoint, but the fact is that I dont' want a crocodile or a alligator living near my house. They get and eat people in Africa and both Australia. I remember how it was one girl on a olympic swim team who went swimming and got eaten by a crocodile in Australia.
You may think thats' so far away it cant' happen here, but just you wait. Its' all sorts of things, plus refugees and immagrants, that get stowed away on the bottom of planes these days particularly from
Africa, which is exactly where ost of the crocodiles come from. The next thing you know, they are getting OFF that plane and then they're HERE. What do we do then?
The fact is you can just kiss goodbye to any little dogs(I have got three) and any grandchildren you let play out back in your yard.
I think we need to keep Crocodiles illegal here except in zoos with controls. Alligators are already here but, there is nothing much you can do about that, plus they pretty much stay out of the way except on golf courses.
Thank you to the New york Times for trying to Wake America Up about all these crocodiles and alligators. I almost wish they would just fight it out between them selfs, but you know that isnt' the way its' gone to turn out in the end. they will attack, kill, and eat our humans in America.
They are terrible animals and do not make good pets.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Dr. David Terry
Hillsborough, NC
12
None of God’s creatures are terrible.
62
Reminds me of an old Borscht-Belt joke. Two hunters are hiding in the bush when one senses a animal lurking directly behind him. Trying to be funny, he asks his companion, "Is that a tiger or a leopard behind me?" The other hunter glances over, then says, "What am I? A furrier?"
43
The article states: 'Both reptiles also survived the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, and since then have remained relatively unchanged.' Why would evolutionary forces appear to have stopped in these species?
8
Evolution is not an inexorable thing. It is borne out of necessity and then only if there are enough males and females with genetic traits more desirable than others for survival. Obviously crocs and gators were fine and remain so.
29
I thought that the big difference was that alligators were fresh water animals and crocodiles were salt water animals. True??
4
There are salt water crocs, but most species prefer freshwater habitats.
9
There are American crocodiles
4
Ain’t taxonomy fun? The real question, of course, is whether the real world is divided up the way taxonomists say it is and, as this article appears to confirm, taxonomists agree.
11
Scientists noted one species sees you "later," whilst for the other, it's "in a while."
5
My grandchildren having seen the recent NYT section with T. Rex are very interested also in this story !
7
Would prefer you refer to their snouts as intimidating rather than sinister. Nature is not evil, even when it eats you.
67
We certainly don't want to get the Alligator and Crocodile Anti-Defamation League on our tail.
35
My wife and I were in a small tour boat in Costa Rica on a river where huge crocs would slide down the muddy banks. There were some young ones right next to the boat that looked at us the way we might look at a delicious sandwich. Truly efficient predators.
I wonder if a hybrid could be bred between gators and crocs. Or between humans and chimps.
3
My preference would be to find out what the headline is talking about in the first paragraph, instead of having to read any number of them to learn what the article is about.
17
Can they interbreed or are they too far apart genetically to produce offspring?
9
Way too far apart. They're different families (a taxonomic difference equivalent to cats vs dogs). As the article noted, their lineages split (stopped interbreeding) about 80 million years ago.
33
Both are very dangerous in the wild.
24
True, dat!
3
They're dangerous at home, too.
19
Both may be very dangerous, but Crocs are far more so...
18