Movie Clip 7: Alligator Drinking
While crocodilians often come to the surface to swallow prey, they don’t have to.  They can expel the extra water by squeezing it back out of their stomachs.  Of course we all assume that alligators purposely drink water, but it is rarely witnessed.  In September 2004 we witnessed this adult female American alligator Alligator mississippiensis drinking water.  She had been out of the water most of the night and when we noticed her she was still lying on land.  She moved her head over the pond and let her lower jaw settle into the water. She tilted her head down toward the water at almost a 45-degree angle.  From the side we could see that she was lowering her tongue, creating a pouch that filled with water.  At the same time she was opening her palatal valve.  She used her palatal valve and her tongue to push the water to the back of her throat.  Her intake of water went on for almost five minutes. In this video her mouth is closed, but you can see her swallow and see excess water squeeze out from the back of her jaws.