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A study published in Molecular Ecology shows that alligators display the same loyalty to their mates as birds do. The study took about ten years and revealed that approximately seventy percent of female alligators remained with the same mate for many years. Although alligators seem to lack in parental skills, they make faithful life partners for sure. The team of researchers examined the mating system of the alligators living in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, which has an open and dense alligator population, allowing alligators to choose among numerous mates. Despite the large pool of available partners, devoted alligators returned to their chosen mates for mating season.
I think it's pretty interesting that alligators actually mate with the same partner for years. You never really think of animals as being loyal to their partners. It always just seemed as though they just picked a different mate every season. I didn't think it was random, but I certainly didn't think alligators would be so loyal!
That is very interesting. I normally wouldn't think of any reptiles, or any sort of animal staying loyal to one particular partner. It makes you wonder if maybe other species also stay loyal to their partners.
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