“Have you heard of an alligator head slap?” the University of Georgia’s Coastal Ecology Lab asked in a Feb. 17 Facebook post. “Like bellowing, a head slap is used for courtship and ...

A visitor to Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp recorded a rarely seen part of the alligator mating ritual called the head slap, researchers say. Jennifer Berglund video screengrab Male alligators ...