They have gone from freezing to sunbathing in a matter of weeks.
Spring may very well be on the horizon as once-frozen alligators in a North Carolina swamp are now defrosted.
As temperatures took a dive across the country earlier this month, gators at the Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., did what they had to do to survive: Freeze.
In a video posted on the park's Facebook page, an alligator could be seen poking just its snout above the ice to breathe as the rest of the waterway was frozen around it.
Alligators, like other cold-blooded reptiles, go into a lethargic state similar to hibernation called brumation when temperatures drop. They can essentially stay frozen in one place for days on end.
But it's now business as usual for the gators, according to park officials.
“The great thaw! Alligators are free!” the park posted to its Facebook page.
“They are already out sunbathing,” an official said in the video.
Park workers checked on the animals to make sure they were all still healthy before releasing them back into the water.
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