Alligator Expert Shows Off ‘Genius’ Frozen Gators in Texas on Instagram

See you later, frozen alligator!

In an Instagram post shared by Gator Country on Wednesday, Jan. 22, alligator expert Gary Saurage showed off how the large reptiles are handling the frigid temperatures in Texas this winter. 

“Wow! Welcome to Gator Country under extreme, extreme conditions,” the television personality said at the start of the clip, which featured Saurage dressed warmly for the colder-than-normal weather. 

As he walked on a bridge toward the camera, it panned over to show what was lurking beneath the frozen surface at their Beaumont adventure park and reptile rescue center. 

“We know how to deal with floods. We know how to deal with hurricanes, but folks, this is what’s really tough on an alligator,” he said. 

His video then zoomed in to show multiple alligators below a sheet of ice with their snouts exposed above the surface. Saurage explained that this is “what happens to alligators when it gets [to] sub-freezing temperatures.”

The conservationist continued, letting his viewers know that this is a natural occurrence, calling the animals “so genius” for their ability to “poke their heads through the ice so that they can breathe.”

According to Saurage, when their nostrils are exposed through the frozen surface, the alligators are “taking about one breath every minute.” 

“Their heart rate is down to three beats per minute. That animal is suspended in hibernation,” he said, asking, “Is that not fascinating?”

However, “hibernation” isn’t quite the correct term since reptiles brumate.

“Brumation is to reptiles what hibernation is to mammals,” per Nationwide Pet Insurance. According to the company, the state of dormancy, which typically happens in winter, is “essential” for reptiles’ survival.

Though temperatures in Texas and other parts of the south are expected to return to normal in the coming days, the National Weather Service previously said the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles would be experiencing “a harsh taste of winter.”

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Earlier this week, the organization warned that the area should brace for arctic air. Rare winter storms have not only caused alligator brumation in Texas, but have also brought uncommon snow to Florida and Louisiana.

The arctic freeze forced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency for his state, while New Orleans this week tied a snowfall record previously set approximately 130 years ago.