Last Updated on September 14, 2023 by Amin Tawar
Are There Alligators In Louisiana?
Yes, there are alligators in Louisiana. The alligator found in Louisiana is the American alligator which is the largest reptile on the continent. They were historically endangered by unregulated hunting, but, thanks to careful management, extensive research, and trustworthy stewardship of this priceless resource and its habitat, alligator populations have fully rebounded, now.
How Many Alligators In Louisiana?
Louisiana’s alligator population has increased in the past 50 years. Just from 100,000, the population has expanded to over 2 million today. Of those, 1 million are found in the Louisiana wild and another 1 million are farmed. They are almost thrice the population of alligators in Florida, the state that has the second most alligator numbers.
Where Do Alligators Live In Louisiana?
They are everywhere, and they are going to have to get to the point of expanding the alligator hunting season. They have been coming up sloughs, channels, and creeks and even into the neighborhoods.
Alligators’ habitat in Louisiana mainly from ponds, to lakes, rivers, canals, bayous, and swamps in the state. They are mostly found in the coastal marshes of Louisiana. Of which, about 4.5 million acres of habitat is available for alligators in Louisiana, with coastal marshes over 3 million, Atchafalaya Basin swamp over 207,000 acres, cypress-tupelo swamp over 750,600 acres, and lakes over 32,105 acres.
Non-breeding females and mature males prefer to live in deep-water habitats. Whereas nesting females, small juveniles, and hatchlings, can be commonly seen in shallow marsh habitats with dense emergent greenery.
How Big Are Louisiana Alligators?
Alligators in Louisiana are roughly 8 to 9 inches long when they hatch. However, every individual’s growth rate depends on many factors including sex, habitat, and age. Growth rates of alligators slow down when they get older.
Male alligators grow faster and bigger than female alligators. Females barely exceed 9 feet long and huge females can weigh over 200 pounds. Males barely exceed 13 feet long and huge males can weigh more than 500 pounds. Alligators usually live over 70 years and when kept in captivity they can live even longer.
How Many Alligators Are Killed In Louisiana?
When it comes to harvesting alligators, Louisiana is the ruler! In Louisiana, hunters harvest more than 30,000 alligators in the wild every year. Alligator farmers harvest more than 280,000 farm-raised alligators each year. Mostly they are harvested for their meat and hide which is estimated more than $10 million.
Also Check Our Guide On Alligators In US
When Is Mating Season For Alligators In Louisiana?
The alligator mating season in Louisiana is from April to May. The courtship between male and female alligators begins in early April and the mating season starts in May and can go till June. A male alligator begins howling during the spring to lure female alligator and warn other admirers to stay out.
For these two months, males compete with each other to find who wins to court the female alligators. During the mating season, alligators can be fierce fighters. They will swallow nearly anything near them and fight to court and protect their domain.
In June females pick nesting sites, near isolated areas or interior marshes to lay their eggs. Mating seasons lead to alligators settling in places where you would slightly expect them.
Can You Hunt Alligators In Louisiana?
Louisiana is the center for alligator hunting in the country! For anyone interested in alligator hunting in the state, the wild alligator hunting season begins every year in September and persists for 30 days.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries provides alligator harvest licenses and tags. Hunters should apply for hunting tags before the season and the alligator hunting license is priced at $25 and no cost for the tags.
Non-residents not having permission for hunting alligators can harvest them only under the Alligator Sports Hunter License and with a guide. The guide should have valid alligator hunting tags. The Alligator Sports Hunter License is priced at $25 for residents and at $150 for non-residents.
Can you feed alligators in Louisiana?
There is no law prohibiting feeding alligators in Louisiana, but it can be against the local laws of a few cities in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has begun an Alligator Program that warns the public not to feed alligators.
As it can create a potentially unsafe situation for the people who use the water. When people feed alligators, they start associating people with food making them come in much closer proximity to humans. Which can lead to increasingly dangerous conflicts between alligators and humans.
Also Check Our Guide On Alligators In Georgia
Conclusion
And that was everything you need to know about the Alligators In Louisana. I hope this article answered all your queries.
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