Aligator cover photo - 100262679

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Alligators move on land by two forms of locomotion referred to as `sprawl` and `high walk`. The sprawl is a forward movement with the belly making contact with the ground and is used to transition to `high walk` or to slither over wet substrate into water. The high walk is an up on four limbs forward motion used for overland travel with the belly well up from the ground.[18] Alligators have also been observed to rise up and balance on their hind legs and semi-step forward as part of a forward or upward lunge. However they can not walk on their hind legs for long distances.[19][20][21] Although the alligator has a heavy body and a slow metabolism, it is capable of short bursts of speed, especially in very short lunges. Alligators` main prey are smaller animals they can kill and eat with a single bite. They may kill larger prey by grabbing it and dragging it into the water to drown. Alligators consume food that cannot be eaten in one bite by allowing it to rot, or by biting and then spinning or convulsing wildly until bite-sized chunks are torn off. This is referred to as a `death roll`. Critical to the alligator`s ability to initiate a death roll, the tail must flex to a significant angle relative to its body. An alligator with an immobilized tail cannot perform a death roll