(American) Alligator
Alligator Mississippiensis
Alligators are a large reptilian species which live primarily in freshwater rivers and freshwater wetlands across the East Atlantic Mandate. Hatched from eggs, and often sexed by temperature, male alligators averaging to 360 kg (790 lbs) and 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in), and female alligators tending towards 91 kg (201 lbs), measuring 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) in length. Some males have grown up to 1000 kg (2,200 lbs) and 5-6 m (16 ft 5 in - 19 ft 8 in), however it is increasingly rare to find individuals of this size. Intrusive saltwater, temperature and poaching place a downward pressure on alligator populations, though their northern most unsupervised populations still push further up the Appalachian Mountains and have shown significant resistance to the deleterious effects of radiation. Once the indisputable apex predator of subtropical semi-aquatic habitats, the Burmese Python and American Crocodile commonly prey on Alligator populations where they overlap. Nutria, beaver, deer, waterfowl, and other small animals make up the main diet of alligators, though they are not obligate carnivores and will be seen eating fruits and processed foods.
While unsupervised populations remain stable, the East Atlantic Mandate has integrated alligators into their agricultural systems, with leather, meat, medicines produced from their blood, and scat being used as commodities for international trade and are an important source of waste removal for agriculture. Most cultivated alligators are gathered in communal ponds, where the waters are warmed for their winters and communal food scraps are fed to the gators. Towns may keep a handful of breeding couples for their lifespans, with some adopting them as local mascots. Alligators living in residential ecological regime are not subject to culling by recognized Mandate Authorities, and some municipalities have begun banning Eurasian boars in favor of alligator meat. Several sects of Islam in the mandate including the Nation of Islam and Islamic Working Family Shura have issued fatwas declaring alligator meat
halal, though most governments recognized by Mandate Authorities who are aligned with the United States and Indian Country's Fiqh Council of North America condemn alligator meat as
haram.