The life history of the American alligator is better known than that of any other crocodilian. The female lays eggs after digging a hole for them in the top of the nest. She lays 30-80 eggs and covers them with wet vegetation and mud. Eggs are incubated by the heat of the sun and hatch in about 60 days. The young call when hatched. The mother alligator, who has been nearby during the incubation period, then carries them in her mouth or leads them to the pond, where they remain where during their first year. The bellow of the male alligator is well known, but only recently has it been recognized that females also call.