{"id":873,"date":"2021-04-15T17:54:35","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T17:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/?p=873"},"modified":"2021-04-15T17:58:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T17:58:19","slug":"mating-season-on-the-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/mating-season-on-the-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Mating Season on the Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s the time of the season\u2026That\u2019s right! It\u2019s mating season here at Alligator Alley and love is in the air. As the weather warms up in April, male alligators begin courtship and set their sights on a mate for the season. Although male alligators are not monogamous, they usually mate with just one female per mating season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Fun fact: <\/em><\/strong>Rising temperatures wake up the reptiles\u2019 metabolisms and they become more energetic and travel further in search of food and mates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The mating rituals of alligators include the first introduction, which is a low bellowing sound that helps the male attract their mate. Male alligators often slap the water with their tails, which cause vibrations to occur in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t forget \u2013 just like any other animal, alligators will also release an odor from their musk glands to make sure their mating partner knows they are there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/how-do-i-learn-alligator-lingo\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1-700x1244.jpg 700w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100623356_3148833095137957_3505889225704734720_n-1.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the females have mated for the season, they begin to build nests to lay their eggs. These are made from mud, plants and sticks found around the swamp. After the mother alligator lay the eggs (which could be 20 to 50 eggs), she covers them in her nest and the incubation period begins. This process will last roughly 65 days, hatching in mid-August or early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pg\/gatoralleyfarm\/videos\/?ref=page_internal\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1-700x933.jpg 700w, https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/144211700_3856914170996509_6489722116760670372_n-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in reading more about the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/six-things-to-know-about-harvesting-alligator-eggs\/\">harvesting of eggs<\/a>, we\u2019ve got it all here! Or, if you\u2019re ready to visit these creatures in their element, stop by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/about\/hours-pricing\/\">Alligator Alley<\/a>. And remember, our&nbsp;live feedings&nbsp;happen every day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Come grab a spot in the bleachers and stay for a wild show! We\u2019ll see you soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, or if you have questions about <a href=\"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/about\/hours-pricing\/\">visiting<\/a> Alligator Alley, call us at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"tel:2519462483\" target=\"_blank\">251-946-2483<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s the time of the season\u2026That\u2019s right! It\u2019s mating season here at Alligator Alley and love is in the air. As the weather warms up in April, male alligators begin courtship and set their sights on a mate for the season. Although male alligators are&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9,39],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alligator-alley","tag-farm-friends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatoralleyfarm.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}