>>66884787fuck you
as you probably already know, alligators are carnivorous animals. however, their specific diet depends on what stage of development they are. when young, they eat invertebrates (crustaceans or instects), snails, fish, worms, and basically any other prey they can get their mouths on. as they grow, they eat larger and larger prey. bigger fish and even mammals and birds. they are also known to eat carrion when hungry enough, but alligators don't tend to eat it often.
oh oh, they also have this thing called gizzard stones, which are exactly what they sound like. also called gastroliths, they're actual geodes that the alligators swallow hole that they keep in a smaller chamber, similar to a bird's gizzard, that aid them in breaking down what they eat. it's how they "chew"
alligators don't actually chew their food, so the teeth they have are used to basically hold the prey in their mouth while they swallow it whole. though, if the animal is far too big to be swallowed in one gulp, say a bison for example, what they will do is they will ensare a part of the animal and start spinning along its axis to try and rip a chunk off.
while they are the top/apex predator within their respective ecosystems they don't really see humans as prey immediately, as long as they're not hungry enough i suppose. they will attack if provoke, but that's basically any animal
gomen for being slow just needed to make sure i was correct <3 