Texas got so cold in US winter blast that alligators froze in solid ice
Online footage shows the reptiles completely submerged except for their snouts, through which they take one breath a minute
In steamy Texas summers, alligators glide through swamps and lakes, occasionally frightening suburban Dallas dwellers.
What about the winter? They freeze, quite literally.
A video posted online captured footage of several alligators at Gator Country in Beaumont completely submerged in frozen water except for their snouts, which are perched above the ice to breathe.
The alligators take about one breath every minute when frozen, Gary Saurage, co-owner of the gator rescue, explained in the video. They slow their heart rate to three beats a minute.
“We know how to deal with floods. We know how to deal with hurricanes,” he said. “But folks, this is what’s really tough on alligators.”
For the record, Beaumont, some 130km (80 miles) east of Houston, did not just get chilly. The temperature plunged to 11 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-11 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday morning, the coldest the city has been in nearly 120 years, according to the National Weather Service.