Mighty Mike - American Alligator

Arrives March 25!

He’s longer than most cars. He can swallow an entire turkey in a single gulp. He’s Mighty Mike - America’s Biggest, Baddest Alligator!

At 14 feet long and over 800 pounds, Mighty Mike is considered the largest alligator in the country on display outside of the state of Florida. Mighty Mike was discovered in 2000, living near a boat dock in Lake Talquin, Florida. Especially large alligators are considered a threat, but local experts intervened, recognizing that – because of his immense size – Mighty Mike was special. In fact, today Mighty Mike serves as an ambassador for American Alligators in the wild, as the public continues to be amazed by, and wants to see and learn more about, this massive prehistoric predator.

Mighty Mike is an American Alligator, one of two species of crocodilians native to the United States. American Alligators can range in size from 6 to 16 feet long and can be found in bayous, swamps, lakes and other bodies of water from North Carolina to Florida. 

The differences between alligators and crocodiles are the shape of their snouts and the presence of a protruding fourth lower jaw tooth.  The snout of the alligator is more rounded than the snout of the crocodile.  The crocodile has a protruding lower jaw tooth and has an under bite while the alligator has an overbite. Although fish is the mainstay of the alligator’s diet, they also eat various foods from insects to small mammals.  They are most active at night while hunting for meals. They eat very little per day; cold-blooded animals do not need as much food to keep them going as do warm-blooded animals do.

Both the American Alligator and the American Crocodile are protected species and classified as threatened due to the poaching and drastic alteration of their habitats by human activity. It is important to remember that alligators were almost completely driven to extinction due to over-hunting during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Now protected, their numbers have increased and Crocodilians are now more frequently seen.

DOWNLOAD our official Mighty Mike Fact Sheet.