Saturday, January 14, 2012

Alligator Hatchlings 01

Alligator Hatchlings:
Female Alligators guard their nests well and won’t hesitate to attack intruders. Hence, it is paramount to watch out for your own safety as well as not to disturb the process of hatching. Baby alligators hatch fast in comparison to pythons. It usually will take me a few hours “only” to film the hatching of an entire alligator nest. The tricky part is to keep the camera focused on one egg only. This is so difficult to do, cuz other eggs start wiggling like mad and ready to brake open. But the moment you readjust your camera, the former egg in focus starts hatching... Okay, there are still plenty of unhatched eggs left but as soon as you focus your camera on a specific egg, the very same situation repeats itself. This happens to me quite often and I’m sure it will happen again. Just remember to stay focus on one action at the moment and you’ll end up with some interesting footage.
Alligator hatchlings make use of their tinny but sharp egg tooth to cuts through the egg shell from inside. The bridle shell cracks and eventually brakes apart due to the alligator’s constant movements. This is truly an exhausting task for any baby alligator. Hence, the babies take periodically naps to regain new energy before shedding of the entire egg shell. Female alligators guard their nests well. They will hear when the babies start hatching, therefore they will start digging up their nests and carry the newborn to the safety of the near by water. The female alligator will protect her young from any predators for at least the next twelve months. Newborn alligators don’t need to feed right away, cuz they still have enough yolk from their egg to provide for the needed nutrition. Most hatchlings will start feeding within the next two weeks after birth and prey on insects, invertebrates, small fish, frogs, mice and anything else they can catch and swallow.

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