Welcome to Alligator, who will be my teacher today!
Alligators are only found in America (with the greatest numbers living in Florida and Louisiana), and China (where they are endangered) and can grow to over 14 feet long, weighing over 1,000 pounds! There is little recorded data on their age, but two are known to have lived into their 70's! They mostly eat small animals that can be consumed in one bite, but if a larger animal is caught, they will store it under water until it becomes "tender" enough to eat in bite size chunks.
It was interesting to read that the sex of an alligator is determined by the temperature in the nest the mother alligator makes - 86 degrees or lower produces all females, 93 degrees or higher produces all males.
Alligator can teach us to appreciate all that life offers, both the good and the bad, and to roll with the punches life gives us in the same way they roll when seizing large prey. And sometimes it's better to let something sit for a while before making a decision, to think and let some time pass lest we bit off more than we can chew. Observing things carefully and being flexible are also practices that Alligator can teach us.
I'm off to visit my Mom today and then do errands so I'm not sure how Alligator's lessons will apply to me today. But I do tend to sometimes make snap judgements about people or situations so I'll try to be aware of that and keep Alligator's teachings in mind!
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