Photo by Suzi Carroll

A mama ALLIGATOR with her 16 babies was photographed at J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge last week by my friend Suzie Carroll. Let me repeat…. this was at Ding Darling NOT anywhere near the beach.

Alligator with babies photo by Suzi Carroll

This really has nothing to do with shelling but I could not help but share this since it was so wild… literally. Thank you Suzi for showing your amazing photos with us! We all love to see babies of any kind but this one is really kinda cute with a little creepiness around the edges.

photo by Suzi Carroll

Do you see the mother giving piggy back rides to the kids? Crazy! That doesn’t seem so cold blooded to me but these reptiles are nothing to mess with. Always stay as far a possible from these creatures and NEVER EVER feed them. Hmmmm, maybe this is why I like to hang out on the beach… no ALLIGATORS!

Alligator babies photo by Suzi Carroll

UPDATE: 11-13-11  We’ve had such interesting comments about these alligators and their habitat- I love it! One of the conversations led to the question of how many of these babies will survive since we all know in nature, all things have predators. I had remembered seeing another cool picture with an alligator that yall might like to see to0. I found it! This photo was taken on September 24 at 9am on the Ding Darling trail camera. Now we know for sure what keeps the alligator population in check……. A BOBCAT eats gator bites for breakfast!