Look closely and you will see an alligator peeking its head above the water. This photo is from Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. This vast state park is actually the largest state park in Florida, encompassing more than 85,000 acres. Wild Boyz Photography has brought you other wild creatures from Fakahatchee Strand. 

From an evolutionary standpoint, alligators are incredible creatures. A study done at Florida State University showed the bite force (in psi) of the American Alligator to be almost 3000 psi. By contrast, lions, tigers, and hyenas produced about 1000 psi bite forces.  Alligators have well adapted senses that have been fine tuned in their 150+ million-year lineage. They have two sets of eyelids, and are considered to have excellent vision. Their large snout would lead you to think alligators have a good sense of smell, and you would be correct. But did you know, despite no visible outer ear, alligators can also hear well. All of their sensory equipment (eyes, ears, nostrils) is placed on the top of their head, so they are exposed above the water when the alligator is floating at the surface.