While Louisiana's massive alligator population may be unaffected by the extended cold weather across the state recently, other animal species could be impacted, according to a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and fisheries biologist.

Home to the largest population of wild alligators in the world, Louisiana, as well as other Southern states, have been drilled by late season snow and ice storms over the past week and freezing temperatures for an even longer period.

But the alligator is cold blooded and usually burrows deep into under-marsh dens to survive cold weather, according to Robert Love, LDWF's Chief of Coastal and Non-Game resources Division

"An alligator's metabolism slows way down during the winter months, then they warm up as the weather warms," Love said. "They will be barely breathing and they can survive for long periods in that manner. On warmer days, they come out.

"There may be multiple animals in the dens. Then there are the migratory species that go south — they get out of here. But reptiles, snakes, salamanders all dig under the mud and go dormant."

Not so lucky are smaller mammals and birds, which don't have much protection from the elements and have trouble foraging for necessary food supplements when ice and snow are on the ground.

"For mammals and birds, this isn't easy — it's a hardship," Love said. "That's why they live on things like acorns. When they can't get to acorns, it breaks down their fat reserves. They may become stressed if they don't have it. It can make things tough."

One thing helping the deer population this time of year is the abundance of feeders provided by deer hunters, who often keep them stocked year around. Smaller deer and fawns, raccoons and squirrels, especially need carbohydrates from foods like acorns to keep the cold at bay.

"It's the Bergmann's rule that says basically that larger species tend to live in colder environment and smaller species in warmer environments," Love said. "The farther north you go, the deer tend to be rounder with a larger body size that allows for more effective use of conservation — they deal with the cold better.

"A black bear or a hog can handle cold better than a fawn. Raccoons tend to put on more fur in the winter. God created them to deal with cold better."

Love also referred to the "cattle feed index," which stipulates that cows feed more on cold days "so they don't lose heat" as quickly.

The U.S. has at least 410 mammal species with 80 of them on the endangered species list. But Louisiana is home to nearly two million gators, despite what might look like a lot of pillaging on shows like A&E's "Swamp People."

Alligators have been harvested in the state since the early 1800s and are one of Louisiana's greatest renewable natural resources.

The state has an alligator egg collection program with more than 300,000 eggs, valued at $1.8 million annually, according to the LDWF. The resulting gator farming industry nets up to 170,000 gators valued at more than $12 million annually.

The wild alligator harvest runs the month of September with as many as 35,000 gators culled for their meat, or to have their skins used in boots or purses.

Typically, male alligators grow to an average of 13-plus-feet, but the record was 19 feet, 2 inches and it came from Marsh Island.