TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
On a mild winter afternoon in the Lowcountry, you may be surprised to see an alligator stretched along a bank. It is not necessarily hunting. Most often, it is simply trying to warm up.
Alligators are ectothermic, meaning their body temperature is shaped by the environment around them. Sun-warmed mud, grass, or pavement can help raise their temperature after cold water and cool nights. When temperatures fall again, they become less active and return to sheltered water or a den.
The safest response is always to give an alligator plenty of room and never feed it. But from a respectful distance, that winter basking behavior offers a clear lesson: even one of South Carolina's most powerful animals still depends on a patch of sunlight to get moving.