Alligators surviving freezing temperatures is stuff of nightmares

Apparently, alligators can survive freezing tempuratures by freezing themselves.

A video posted by a North Carolina swamp park demonstrated the survival skills of these ancient cold-blooded animals.

The Shallotte River Swamp Park video showed multiple alligators with their noses and teeth sticking out of the frozen water. It looked like something out of a horror movie.

Don’t worry, though: The park told Bradenton Herald that if someone accidentally steps on a frozen alligator they won’t respond because they need to conserve their energy.

The animals are able to instinctively know when the water will freeze. They respond by sticking their noses above the surface at the perfect moment. They then enter a state of brumation, similar to hibernation, until the ice melts.

This state of brumation allows the reptiles to regulate their body temperature and metabolism so that they can survive.

The Shallotte River Swamp Park is a sanctuary for rescued alligators. The sanctuary park holds a dozen alligators that were previously held in captivity and are unfit to be released in the wild.

The original video, posted to the park’s Facebook page, has almost half a million views. The swamp park has since posted an update video to their website.

“This is the time of year when they’re just hanging out an waiting for it to get warm,” said the narrator of the video.