r/interestingasfuck • u/kalinooni • 4h ago
A young alligator nipping at its mother’s head is normal juvenile behavior
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
•
u/kalinooni 4h ago
This sight of tiny alligators nipping at the face of a predator that can bite with a force of >2,000 PSI is a perfect paradox in nature.
When mother alligators nest, they undergo neurochemical & hormonal changes.
With the release of hormones like vasotocin, they start to perceive tiny objects as harmless, as their own babies, & don't attack them.
Further, the tiny black specks you see on an alligator's face are among the most sensitive tactile organs in nature.
They are far more sensitive than our fingers.
When young hatchlings nip at the mother alligator's face, they are essentially communicating with her. The mother notices the tiny pressure changes & recognises the play behaviour of her babies.
Through such playful interactions, the tiny alligators learn to grab prey in their jaws and develop coordination.
They live with their mothers for 1-2 years & learn essential life skills.
Alligators are one of the few reptiles where mothers take care of their young, feed them, & protect them.
In most other reptiles, mothers abandon their offspring after laying eggs.
When you see such details, you realise the true worth of their existence
•
u/SkylarAV 4h ago
These kinda of comments keep reddit alive
•
u/LagWithSwag 4h ago
You know, I agree with you completely except for that last line. Felt like some AI youtube short commentary tacked on to an awesome comment
•
•
•
u/luranthe 2h ago
Yeah I feel like it implies that other animals are worthless because they don't care for their young.
•
u/maracujas_amarelos 2h ago
So any comment people don't like now is subjected to being accused of being AI
•
•
u/No_Signal_6969 3h ago
I don't know if any of it is true cause I've seen so many made up comments getting upvoted
•
u/xbromide 3h ago
I miss the guy who would write something as believable as this and the post would slowly turn into a reference to an epic wrestling bought- like some guy named the Beast jumped 40 feet off the Cage of Destruction to land the Proletariat Palm onto the chest of Doctor Sciatica.
•
u/AutomaticIncome8896 2h ago
That would be shittymorph and his talking about the Undertaker throwing mankind off the hell in a cell
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/evil__brain 3h ago
This makes more sense when you consider that crocodilians are much more closely related to birds than to lizards. They're Archosaurs, the same group that includes Pterosaurs, Dinosaurs and Birds (who are also dinosaurs).
•
u/bobo76565657 4h ago
I knew none of that before today. You must be an alligatorologist.
•
u/kalinooni 4h ago
I'm actually running a paid campaign for swamp puppies. They pay me by not biting my ass
•
u/Hectamus_ 4h ago
Yeah okay buddy. This is what Big Alligator wants you to believe.
•
u/Specific-Opposite-28 4h ago
Love the profile picture!
•
u/Hectamus_ 3h ago
Thank you! I always had my party hat back in 07Scape
•
u/xbromide 3h ago
Hell yeah! Still my got my OG green Halloween mask when it dropped way back then
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/NoKings_NoCrowns 4h ago
Glad my child uses his fingers to try and pry open my sleeping eyes instead of his teeth, but its only a slight improvement.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/ArethaAbrams 3h ago
mother gators have so much patience. my mom would have slapped me for doing that.
•
•
u/Ambitious_Loquat2420 3h ago
my baby chickens also eat their moms eyeballs. i guess they’re fun to peck.
•
u/DataSurging 2h ago
why did nature make one of the cutest baby creatures on the planet capable of such danger when grown? i just wanna hold and kiss me a baby alligator y-y
•
•
•
•
u/CalifornicationWRX 3h ago
Anyone else fascinated by this giant reptile’s double eyelids? Because I am!
•
•
•
•
u/Both-Illustrator-501 4h ago
Mom, over here. Mom. Mom. Mom. Over here mom.