MATTING CALL (Original Painting) Oil on Canvas 36 x 24 Unframed by Susan Andreasen

Depicts an alligator’s courtship behavior. The narrative highlights the species’ recovery following federal protection after being overhunted for over a century.

It was inspired when I was air boating in the Everglades. I saw this male alligator calling to the beautiful ladies that were in the area. He really was impressive when the water danced all over his back, this is the way alligator call as he tried to draw interest from the ladies that were nearby. 

This animal is truly overlooked; they have been here for centuries and are truly family oriented. If you look at the female of the species, she lays eggs and waits till they hatch and the carries them to the water in her mouth and watches over them after that.

The species was overhunted for more than a century for their hides and meat. After alligators received federal protection from the Endangered Species Act, however, it became clear they needed to be left alone in order to recover. The ESA prohibited alligator hunting for many years, and alligator populations rebounded in 1987 taking off endanger list.