In southern swamps where cypress grow,
Where Spanish moss hangs dark and low,
The American alligator waits,
A living relic time creates.
Many years they've stayed,
Since dinosaurs first walked and played.
Fourteen feet of armored might,
Black as shadows in the night.
Their massive jaws can snap and crush
With force that makes the waters hush.
Three thousand pounds of pressure strong,
Can crack a turtle's shell lifelong.
The mother builds her nest with care,
Of mud and plants piled everywhere.
She guards her eggs through summer's heat,
Then carries babies, small and sweet,
In gentle jaws to water's edge,
Fulfilling nature's sacred pledge.
Once hunted near to their last breath,
For leather bags and boots of death,
Just hundreds left in sixties' time,
Their future seemed a pantomime.
But protection laws brought them back,
From near extinction's deadly track.
Now millions cruise the southern streams,
Through Louisiana's bayou dreams.
From Texas east to Carolina,
These apex predators still shine-a.
The comeback story, proud and true,
Shows what conservation can do.