Victims are dragged underwater and drowned before being consumed. Audible sounds the alligator makes consist of UMPH,UMPH,UMPH , made at the time the alligator hatches. If you hear this, move away from the area immediately. This sound is also heard when bulls challenge one another. Females produce young by laying eggs in nests built of leaves, twigs pinestraw, mud, etc.
Mothers are very protective.
Out of the original 50 eggs laid 10 may survive. Predators are raccoons, opossums, and large birds. They occasionally eat their own. The young remain vulnerable for the 1st year. Dens are built under the lagoon banks.