Chilly 'gators poke heads above ice to cope with bitter cold

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (AP) — Although North Carolina's bitter cold snap deterred plenty of humans from sticking their noses outdoors, a group of alligators stuck their snouts into the frost and hunkered down in the name of survival.

When the alligators at Shallotte River Swamp Park recently found themselves beneath a sheet of ice as temperatures plunged below freezing, they poked their nostrils above the surface to get some air.

The odd scene was a matter of survival for the gators. When they get cold, they enter a period of dormancy known as brumation.

They slow their metabolism and their breathing, and before the surface ices over they poke their noses out of the water to continue breathing.