The Alligator is one of four members of the family Crocodylidae. The other three being the crocodiles, caimans, and gharials. Just about any natural body of water here in Florida can be home to one or more gators. Found only in the Southeast United States and as far west as Oklahoma and Texas. A different, smaller alligator is found in China.
The alligator is characterized by a blunt and rounded snout while the crocodile has a long and tapered snout. There is an American Crocodile but is very rare and is only found in the very southern part of Florida.
In Florida, it is illegal to feed an alligator nor to hunt or trap one without a permit.
The alligator at the top was photographed in Citrus County, Florida, and the one on the bottom was taken at the pond in back of our house in Lake County, Florida. Both of them were about 10 feet in length.