An alligator chews its food only to break the food up into pieces it can swallow.
Although the alligator sports very strong jaws and teeth sharp enough to crush bones and other hard matter, it prefers prey it can swallow whole.
Inside the alligator’s belly are small pebbles it has swallowed that help grind up the food.
What it can’t swallow whole or break into smaller pieces, it will sometimes let sit and decay for a while until it can be broken up for consumption.
