
May 06 2023
Alligator: Warmer Nest? More Baby Boys
The sex of a baby alligator is not determined by genetics but by the temperature of the nest during incubation. If the temperature stays around 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit, most of the hatchlings will be male.
Cooler temperatures, around 82 to 86 degrees, produce mostly females. Even a slight change of just a few degrees can alter the ratio, sometimes resulting in mixed groups of males and females.
This temperature-dependent sex determination is common in many reptiles and makes alligator populations sensitive to climate shifts.