Alligators, encased in ice, endure North Carolina's cold snap

American alligators are proving why they are considered survival machines during the winter weather.

Shallotte River Swamp Park shared incredible footage, on January 6, showing alligators encased in ice at the park in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. 

The video shows several of the alligators sticking their noses and teeth through the icy cover of the water. As the water froze, they leave their noses up so they can breathe, a park worker is heard saying in the video.

Experts say alligators seem to instinctively know when water is about to freeze, reports the Charlotte Observer. Their response is to stick their nose above the surface at the right moment, allowing the water to freeze around them.

“Pretty good reason why they have been around this long for millions of years,” he says, and added they are doing well.

North Carolina is the furthest north the alligator species would travel. 

Shallotte River Swamp Park wrote in a blog post, on Saturday, that the cold-blooded gators could endure temperatures dipping to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius) by slowing their metabolism in a hibernation-like process called brumation.

Watch the full Facebook video here: