Frozen alligators went viral this week thanks to a video, "alligators on ice," that showed how the reptiles survived the recent cold snap by allowing themselves to be frozen in place in a pond, with their snouts in the air, The Charlotte Observer noted.
Now that temperatures are above freezing they have thawed out.
The video was posted onto Facebook by the Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, showing footage of alligator noses and teeth sticking out of the ice of a pond that froze over when last week's "bomb cyclone" storm hit the East Coast.
"It's a survival mechanism," said George Howard, the general manager of the park, according to ABC News.
"They'll go wherever it is warmest," he noted, explaining that the alligators took to the warmer swamp waters when the storm hit.
According to Howard, this is not uncommon for alligators, whose bodies experience brumation, a process almost like hibernation in which a cold-blooded animal's metabolism lowers and its body temperature regulates in order to survive cold climates.
"They can sense temperature changes and will stick their noses out of the water to breathe," said Howard, per The Huffington Post.
"It just so happened southeastern North Carolina recently had a freeze like none other, so the ice literally froze right around their snouts."
The alligators cannot stay in the icy conditions indefinitely, however, Howard said on Tuesday that temperatures had warmed up, causing the ice to melt and the reptiles to once again move around the park and sanctuary, which is home to at least a dozen rescued alligators that were previously being held in captivity.
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