What it is
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a large, dark crocodilian of the swamps, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States. Its tail makes up half of its length. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Least Concern.
Range
Freshwater wetlands of the southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Florida and west to central Texas.
What happened
Poorly regulated hunting led the United States to list the American alligator as endangered across its whole range in 1967. Under federal and state protection it recovered quickly, and in 1987 the government found it was no longer biologically endangered or threatened. It stays on the list only because it looks like the rare American crocodile, so that the crocodile is protected too.
When / status
Least Concern now, about twenty years after it was listed as endangered.
Human role
Poorly regulated hunting pushed it down until protection began in 1967.