I bet you were walking around thinking about alligators today weren’t you. No? Well, you will be after learning how they survive in water during the cold months.
After you leave school and enter the big bad world people tend to stop asking what your favorite animal is.
If it was an alligator, you might already know how the reptiles make it through the ice-cold temperatures of winter.
For the rest of us, you might be surprised to learn the truth.
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A TikTok video has recently gone viral and left viewers shocked at the unusual discovery.
The clip, viewed over 350,000 times since being posted, was shared by Texan rescue center Gator Country.
"We all know what alligators do during the summer and spring ... but what do they do in the winter and how do they survive?” Gator Country owner Gary Saurage said in the video.
He then pointed to an alligator that can be seen frozen in a pond.
The gator is almost completely submerged but its nose and tail are just above the ice.
“That animal is in full hibernation right there,” he added.
"His heart is beating three beats per minute. Folks, that's amazing. That's how alligators survive in the ice."
After watching the incredible video, the comment section was filled with further questions for the rescue center as well as praise to the carers.
"Do you think they’re sore and stiff when they wake up?"one user asked.
"Learn something new every day, I just got a new wrinkle in my brain," added another.
"It’s cold as hell here in north Texas. Our gators have done the same behavior," commented someone else.
"Craziness! I never knew this wow," a fourth wrote.
In 2021, the Ouachita National Forest also explained to its Facebook followers that those visiting should not be alarmed if they spot an alligator frozen in the ice.
“Some of you may be wondering what our McCurtain County Oklahoma alligators do to survive the ice. Rest assured that they have adapted very well,” the page said.
“According to Robert Bastarache, Oklahoma Ranger District Wildlife Biologist, these pictures show how the gators that are not within brumation dens but rather out in the open water have adapted to these icing events.
“As long as they can keep their nostrils above water level, they should survive. You can now rest comfortably!”
You really do learn something new every day, don't you?
Gerrard Kaonga