The Weird Way Alligators Survive the Cold Oklahoma Winter

At the big family gathering next week, bring this up. You'll be amazed at how many people have no idea Oklahoma is home to a decent population of alligators.

Yeah, we got gators.

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Obviously, since the Sooner State occasionally gets some pretty Arctic weather, the first question that pops up almost every winter is "How do alligators survive Oklahoma's cold season?"

As it turns out, they've evolved to deal with it just fine.

It's called "icing."

When the air is cold enough to freeze their bogs and ponds, alligators will literally poke their snouts up through the ice and enter a lethargic state of being called brumation.

While the ice-cold waters don't seem to bother them, all living things must breathe.

If you didn't know that Oklahoma has alligators, here's a little more on them.

Our Southern border Red River is what feeds the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp in Louisiana. It's only natural that these alligators have made the trip up our way.

Normally, the vast majority of Oklahoma's 200-ish alligators can be found in the Red Slough Wildlife Management Area and Little River National Wildlife Refuge, both located deep in the southeast corner of the state, but there have been frequent sightings further west up the accessible river systems. Tishomingo had their own gator encounter not that long ago.

While the weather may make survival almost impossible to fathom for these creatures, life always finds a way.

Here's more on the wild way alligators survive the brutal cold.

@insideeditionThese #alligators look like they're stuck in frozen water, but their noses surfaced to the top right before the water became #ice. It's so they can breathe. This is the scene at the Shallotte River Swamp Park in #NorthCarolina. The alligators have all rescued from captivity and cannot go back into the wild.♬ original sound - Inside Edition