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Listen as This Big Alligator Bellows a Seductive Mating Call

A very large alligator bellows to attract a mate or declare territory, “sprinkling” the water as she does so. It is quite a display.

In what might be described as a husky vocalization, this big gator does her best to turn on the charm and advertise to a mate.

This took place just a few days ago at Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina. This gator is identified by Robert Johnson as “Georgia”, who he caught on an early morning camera trap doing her thing.

It is understood that both male and female alligators can bellow like this. They do it to attract a mate or to declare territorial boundaries.

They suck air into their lungs and release it forcefully to make these rumbling roars. Bellowing is performed in an arched back posture, with the head lifted up and out of the water and the tail arched up as well, while the belly and back of the animal remain in the water.

Here’s another view of Georgia bellowing when she hears the sound of a delivery truck. This may be a territorial bellow.

It is thought that only males can sprinkle the water like this gator is doing here. But Robert Johnson maintains that this is a female. Infrasonic waves from a bellowing gator can cause the water on either side of the gator to do what is called a “water dance”, where the water “sprinkles” like it does for Georgia in this video.

People hearing the bellowing from several alligators at once report that they are felt more than they are heard. And wikipedia observes that “alligators bellow in B flat, and bellowing choruses can be induced by tuba players, sonic booms, and large aircraft.



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Listen as This Big Alligator Bellows a Seductive Mating Call