Oklahoma alligators frozen in water with snouts sticking out

[MoonRiver]

A number of alligators in southeastern Oklahoma were caught on camera sticking their snouts out of water amid the deep freeze by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s David Arbour.

The images showed lifting their snouts above the waterline with the lake having frozen all around them.

While initially, the images caused commenters to worry for the welfare of the chilly reptiles, Mr Arbour and experts have assured that the behaviour, often called “icing” or “snorkeling”, is natural.

The phenomenon, also called brumation, allows the alligator to slow down their heart rate and metabolism during cold temperatures below the water while still maintaining the ability to breathe.

"It’s an interesting behavior because it’s opposite of what most crocodilians do," James Perran Ross, a retired associate scientist of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida told LiveScience in 2018.

He added: "The normal response of most other crocs when it gets really cold is to come out of the water and try to bask to get warm again."

Mr Ross explained that since the air is usually colder than the water itself if alligators completely left the water they could freeze to death.

https://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-alligators-frozen-water-snouts-173711267.html

[underpants]

1. I thought we had alligators here

Crocs are in the Southern Hemisphere I thought

[Wounded Bear]

2. I believe alligators is a sub-group of genus crocodillian...nt

[LeftInTX]

7. They have both crocs and alligators in South Florida

Crocs aren't very common.
Salt water crocs..(no link. On my phone)

[underpants]

14. Well GREAT

Kanye and Kim are splitsville
One of the Fat Boys died
And now THIS

I really didn’t know that.

[uncle ray]

15. wait, what?

some of the Fat Boys are still alive?

[dem4decades]

3. Funny with all the news about Texas you forget States like Oklahoma are in the deep freeze too.

Why is Texas so fucked up when other Republican states seem to have avoided the worst of it?

[Bucky]

4. Oklahomans are used to dealing with cold weather.

When I was a kid we would visit my grand folks there on the regular. It always snowed, sometimes heavy, in the winter.

Those alligators, without intending to, are a metaphor

Also, should be a good time to go gator hunting. Gator meat is the yumms

[USALiberal]

8. No thanks! Nt

[LeftInTX]

9. I did not know they had alligators in OK

[ShazzieB]

16. Me, neither.

I learn something new here at DU every day!

[albacore]

17. True... and it's pre-chilled. And not as feisty right now, either. nt

[MoonRiver]

5. Because all other lower 48 states grid share. But not Texas! NO, NO, NO

[BannonsLiver]

6. We're on a regional grid so that has helped with the energy issue

And by and large our winters while not being like those of the Great Lakes states are generally harsher than Texas winters. We were on a nearly 2 week stretch of below freezing weather even before the arctic air arrived.

[LeftInTX]

12. I am closer to the Tropic of Cancer than the OK border.

We don't prepare well for cold down here.

It's one of those things that was "hard to imagine " when it was 80 degrees last week. We're like, " Snow?? What?? 9 degrees???"

Althouh, it's not an excuse. Our legislation is pretty short sighted.

The warm parts of TX share power with the cold parts. And the really cold parts of Texas are on the national grid.

[magicarpet]

10. Texas.....

Hyper deregulation of businesses.....

No connection to the federal east or west electric grid. Where as if power fail as in one area then other states crank up generation and send it to their neighbors to make up for power generation lost. Then vis versa Texas would crank their power if anyone else in the grid needs power if a neighbor suffered an outage. If you are a member of the grid they help each other out to keep things up and running. Texas refused to join the grid but decided to go it alone,... they figured it would be cheaper,... but they were wrong.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Reminds me of Disney's "Happiest Millionaire".

The story was based on a non-fiction eccentric millionaire, Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, who kept alligators -- in a room in his mansion. The help left the windows opened during a winter day and their baths froze over. But they didn't die.

[LeftInTX]

13. Lol

[Celerity]

18. pic

[MoonRiver]

19. Fantastic pic!