Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach
Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach
A North Carolina swamp park has posted a video how alligators survive in a frozen pond.

The cold-blooded reptiles cannot generate their own body heat, but they can regulate it by changing their environment in a system called brumation. The creatures lower their body temperature and metabolism so they can survive.

Alligators essentially allow themselves to be frozen in place with their noses just above the surface, according to a video posted on Facebook by Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach

While it's hard to believe they are able to survive the icy conditions, animal experts say they are very much alive and doing okay.


'Just hanging out in the water,' said the narrator of the video. 'Pretty amazing. ... Look at those teeth. This is the time of year when they are just hanging out, waiting for it to get warm.'

Experts say that alligators almost instinctively know when the pond is about to freeze over.

They'll stick their nose above the surface at just the right moment and allow the water to freeze around it.

In extreme cases, they get frozen into the surface of the pond for several days and then swim free when the ice melts.

Experts say that alligators almost instinctively know when the pond is about to freeze over.
Experts say that alligators almost instinctively know when the pond is about to freeze over.
When it gets warm again and the ice melts, the alligators will start thermoregulating their body temperatures.

The video, which received 104,000 views as of Monday night, led many viewers to asks what happens if someone steps on a frozen alligator. Experts said it's not likely the animal will react. At least not while the water is still frozen around them.

'No, they will not respond,' the park said in a Facebook post. 'They are trying to conserve energy to maintain body temperature.'

After almost being eradicated in the early 20th century, alligators have made a comeback in North Carolina. Most are found in the southeastern corner of the state.