Spotted Gar

Welcome to this week’s Wildlife of the Week!

The Spotted Gar, this week’s Wildlife of the Week, is the most widespread and abundant gar species in Alabama. They can be found in lakes, streams, swamps and rivers and are often seen congregating in schools.

Lepisosteus oculatus Spotted Gar

They have long slender bodies with dark spots down their flanks, a beaklike snout and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. Adults are two to three feet long, weigh 4 to 6 pounds and the females are larger than the males. They invoke images of a prehistoric creature. With their sleek and elongated body, spotted gar possess exceptional maneuverability.

Gar are formidable predator fish due to a highly developed lateral sensory organ that runs along the length of their body. This organ detects movement and vibrations in the water. This unique adaptation allows them to successfully hunt in low visibility water. They prefer water with little or no current as opposed to flowing water and lurk under floating vegetation looking for prey and seizing them with their long toothy mouth.

They often lie motionless near the water’s surface, blending in with their surroundings. With lightning-fast reflexes, they lunge forward, capturing their unsuspecting prey with a swift snap of their jaws. Their diet is primarily smaller fish such as minnows and shad, however, they are opportunistic hunters and will also consume crustaceans, amphibians and insects.

In Alabama they spawn in April, May, and June in shallow water with abundant vegetation and cover. The female lays up to 20,000 eggs on leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs are green in color and have an adhesive coating to keep them attached to aquatic vegetation. After 10 to 14 days, the eggs hatch.

Males mature at the age of two or three, whereas females mature at three or four years old. The male's average lifespan is 8 years and the female's average lifespan is 10 years.

The spotted gar in the video and photos were observed in Dinsmore Slough.

(Photos and video by Tom Ress)