OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC – Rescue alligators at Shallotte River Swamp Park are surviving the freezing temps by sticking their noses out of the water as their swamp ices over.
The park posted a video on its YouTube page showing the bizarre survival tactic on Sunday.
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The alligators can’t be released back into the wild because they were all previously in captivity, the video’s narrator said.
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Alligators can live in water at a temperature as low as 40 degrees — any lower and the reptiles enter a state of brumation.
This is where a reptile’s metabolism slows down dramatically and it will go into a lethargic state, according to a blog post on the park's website.
Check out a video of the icy alligators below:
