National Geographic: Realm of the Alligator Page #4

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And these will be accentuated until one

animal is capable of pressing the other

under water

and ultimately circle around

and mount on that animal

and begin riding it around

and ultimately roll over to one side

and attempt to mate with that animal.

However they behave,

alligators have reproduced quite

successfully in Okefenokee.

Here, until the 1970s

they were badly hit by poachers.

Now, stiff laws protect a population

that has grown to about 12,000.

In summer, bubbling gases are like

the heartbeat of Okefenokee.

Beneath the dark waters

is a thick layer

of decomposing vegetation called peat.

The gases it creates sometimes

lift large patches

of peat to float on the surface.

Old-timers called this a 'blow-up'.

Over time, the floating mats of peat

are covered with vegetation.

Some sink again, but others become

floating islands

and eventually support bushes

and even trees.

Ultimately, the trees take root

and new land is created

small wooded islands

known locally as houses.

Okefenokee is an Indian word that means

'land of the trembling earth'

John Paling shows how fitting

the name is

when he lands on a

young floating island.

I actually enjoy walking on

"trembling earth", if I admit it.

It's one of these strange experiences

like walking on a bowl of jelly.

The waters of Okefenokee

are highly acid,

about as acidic as strong tea

and much the same color.

Conditions favor the growth

of insect-eating plants

that are found here in great variety.

This pitcher plant lures insects to

its hollow tubular leaf with nectar.

Once inside, few insects escape.

They're fooled by light

from the translucent windows

that line the back of the tube.

They exhaust themselves trying

to get out.

Eventually the insects fall

to the bottom of the tube.

There they are dissolved by acid

secretions and the plant absorbs them.

Another deadly attraction is the sundew

Its leaves are adorned

with brightly colored stalks

tipped with shiny droplets

apparently a sweet meal

for passing insects.

But hungry insects soon

become entangled.

Escape is impossible when the plant

finally closes to digest its victim.

Along the edges of islands

and in shallow marshes

insects are snared

in such deadly traps.

When it's all over,

there will be nothing left of them

except their indigestible husks.

As night falls Okefenokee's gloom

and its grandeur deepen.

One hundred million years ago

the alligator's ancestors thrived

in prehistoric swamps.

As far as we know, they looked much

as they do today.

The eyes of the alligator

are highly reflective.

They shine with an eerie glow

in the night.

John Paling and Kent Vliet conduct

a nighttime search for baby alligators

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