Editing Alligator (section)

== Habitat ==
{{Multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| align = top
| header = ''A. mississippiensis''
| width1 = 220
| image1 = Alligator mississippiensis - Oasis Park - 13.jpg
| caption1 = Head
| width2 = 220
| image2 = Alligator mississippiensis - Oasis Park - 12.jpg
| caption2 = Eye
}}
Alligators are native only to the [[United States]] and [[China]].<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Elsey, R. |author2=Woodward, A. |author3=Balaguera-Reina, S.A. |year=2019 |title=''Alligator mississippiensis'' |page=e.T46583A3009637 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T46583A3009637.en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite iucn |author=Jiang, H. |author2=Wu, X. |year=2018 |title=''Alligator sinensis'' |page=e.T867A3146005 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T867A3146005.en}}</ref>

American alligators are found in the [[southeast United States]]: all of [[Florida]] and [[Louisiana]]; the southern parts of [[Georgia (US state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]], and [[Mississippi]]; coastal [[South Carolina|South]] and [[North Carolina]]; [[East Texas]], the southeast corner of [[Oklahoma]], and the southern tip of [[Arkansas]]. Louisiana has the largest alligator population.<ref>2005 Scholastic Book of World Records</ref> The majority of American alligators inhabit Florida and Louisiana, with over a million alligators in each state. Southern Florida is the only place where both alligators and [[crocodile]]s live side by side.<ref>"Trappers catch crocodile in Lake Tarpon", Tampa Bay Times, July 12, 2013</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://srelherp.uga.edu/alligators/allmis.htm|title=Species Profile: American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) – SREL Herpetology|work=uga.edu|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> 

American alligators live in [[freshwater]] environments, such as [[pond]]s, [[marsh]]es, [[wetland]]s, [[river]]s, [[lake]]s, and [[swamp]]s, as well as in [[brackish water]].<ref name="Dundee, H. A. 1989">Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.</ref> When they construct alligator holes in the wetlands, they increase plant diversity and provide habitat for other animals during droughts.<ref>Craighead, F. C., Sr. (1968). The role of the alligator in shaping plant communities and maintaining wildlife in the southern Everglades. The Florida Naturalist, 41, 2–7, 69–74.</ref> They are, therefore, considered an important species for maintaining ecological diversity in wetlands.<ref>Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Chapter 4.</ref> Farther west, in Louisiana, heavy grazing by [[nutria]]s and [[muskrat]]s is causing severe damage to coastal wetlands. Large alligators feed extensively on nutrias, and provide a vital ecological service by reducing nutria numbers.<ref name=Keddy2009/>

The Chinese alligator currently is found in only the [[Yangtze River]] valley and parts of adjacent provinces<ref name=":0" /> and is extremely endangered, with only a few dozen believed to be left in the wild. Far more Chinese alligators live in zoos around the world than can be found in the wild. Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in southern Louisiana has several in captivity in an attempt to preserve the species. [[Zoo Miami|Miami MetroZoo]] in Florida also has a breeding pair of Chinese alligators.