A gator living at the Australian Reptile Park has woken up from brumation (remember, it’s winter in Australia), and it’s letting everyone know by making a deep rumbling sound that you can practically feel. A video showing the gator (and displaying the gator’s frightening sound) lets everyone at home hear what it’s like to be close to an alligator without them actually being close to one.
“That deep rumble isn’t just noise, it’s how they communicate!” wrote the Australian Reptile Park in its Instagram post sharing the video. “Males use it to attract mates, warn rivals, and even send vibrations through the water so other gators can ‘feel’ them. [It’s] nature’s way of saying, ‘I’m here!’”
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Alligators are not native to Australia; that’s croc territory. However, the Australian Reptile Park houses American alligators as well as “salties” (saltwater crocodiles) and freshwater crocodiles. Saltwater and freshwater crocodiles are the two types of crocs native to Australia.
Can you imagine hearing this sound in the wild?
Turn your sound on to listen to a gator’s deep rumble here:
Have you ever heard an alligator make this noise in real life?
Header stock image by clark42/Getty Images