‘Gatorcicles’ popping up in South Carolina as ponds freeze, stunning photos show

Even alligators need to take some time to chill.

Videos of so-called “gatorcicles” in South Carolina have gone viral on social media this week, as temperatures across the state plummeted into the teens.

About ten impressive 9-foot-long cold-blooded creatures were seen frozen in ice, with only their snouts sticking out of the shallow ponds of The Swamp Park, an alligator sanctuary about 175 miles south of Raleigh.

But don’t worry, the predators might look dead, but they’re simply avoiding the winter chill.

“We have the alligators doing what they do — doing an amazing job at protecting themselves by sticking their noses up out of the water in the evening, allowing for the water to freeze around themselves, but still allowing themselves the ability to breathe,” park manager George Howard said in a video shared Sunday.

The “gatorcicles” — as another employee put it — can stay frozen solid for as long as necessary to stick out the cold weather, which hit South Carolina last week and lasted through the weekend.

The alligators instinctively know when the weather will drop and prepare by jutting their nose above the surface and suspending their body in the water.

When the water freezes the next day, passersby would only see snouts and really big teeth sticking out.

“Think of it as a cute little danger snorkel,” the employee said.

The incredible evolutionary technique is known as brumation, which is the reptilian equivalent of mammal hibernation, according to the South Carolina Aquarium.

Unlike mammals, alligators don’t fall into a deep slumber, but slow down their metabolic rate and become lethargic with some periods of activity.

While they don’t eat in the winter months, the gators continue to drink.

The alligators shake off their sleep and return to their favorite pastime — basking in the sun — on the warmer days in winter.

The phenomena is not limited to South Carolina, but anywhere alligators frequent that has experienced a drop in temperatures.

Texas, which experienced snowfall last week, also has its fair share of gatorcicles popping up in its waters.

 “We bundle up but this is what the American alligator does,” Eddie Hanhart said on TikTok.

“See he knew he was gonna freeze last night, so what he does is he went and found him a nice comfy spot.”