A video showing an odd-shaped hump protruding from a frozen swamp is gaining traction on social media. It actually is an exposed snout of an alligator locked in ice and unable to move. The clip is from The Swamp Park in North Carolina, in the United States, which is home to an alligator preserve in Ocean Isle Beach. The clip has been shared on Twitter by Tansu Yegan and shows a man digging the alligator out of the frozen swamp.
The man, according to the voiceover in the clip, is George Howard, the manager of The Swamp Park. He was trying to give the alligators some room to relax. The video has received more than nine million views.
The clip was originally posted by The Swamp Park in 2018.
In an article from that year, the Charlotte Observer quoted Mr Howard as saying that alligators seem to sense when the water is at its freezing point and poke their noses into the air "at just the right moment."
Mr Howard further said that frozen alligators enter a state of "brumation," which is similar to hibernation.
Later, speaking to Washington Post about his experience, Mr Howard said, "It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen. I was just astounded. Initially I was worried and then I realised what they were doing and that it was the only way they could breathe. And I thought, how intelligent is that?"
Reptiles like crocodiles are cold-blooded animals. For most of the reptiles, humid and warm conditions are essential for survival. Reptile species vary, but most require a constant temperature - between 70 to 85 degree Fahrenheit (21.1 to 29.4 degrees Celsius) with basking areas that reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius).
