In fiction, when a crocodilian character or a character with a crocodilian Animal Motif appears, they will likely be portrayed as a southern United States character type (ranging from New Orleans-Cajun persona to the hick/hillbilly of the Deep South), or be explicitly stated to be from the southern U.S.
This depiction is largely because a bulk of the global alligator population is centralized in Florida's Everglades and the states of Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. As alligators are local fauna of the wet hot pocket of the U.S., the alligator is viewed as a representation of the American South. The three aforementioned states recognize the alligator as the state reptile, and the states' schools and universities often have alligator mascots. Alligators may be used to embody the unpleasant sides of the states, since alligators occupying the swamps is a commonplace hazard there and an infamous characteristic of the southern U.S. Given the popularity of alligator taxidermy in alchemy, comparisons between alligators and voodoo of New Orleans are also fair game.
As a trope, this portrayal also tends to apply to crocodiles and other crocodilians. Note that in Real Life, while alligators and crocodiles occupy wetland habitats worldwide, only alligators are in the southern region of the United Statesnote The American crocodile is the only other crocodile that can be found in the lower parts of Florida from Central America, but they are extremely rare. Though, since people often conflate the two species, a crocodilian character will likely be presented as a Southern bayou-dweller, regardless of whether it's a crocodile or an alligator.
Sub-Trope of National Animal Stereotypes, the Deep South, and Ragin' Cajun, the latter two of which can overlap with this. See also Apothecary Alligator. For critters portrayed through the lens of the northern parts of the United States, see Brooklyn Rats. See also Western Rattlers for another reptile synonymous with the southern region of the United States.
Examples:
- Batman: Batman villain Killer Croc hails from Florida. Some incarnations speak with a Cajun accent, like The Batman (2004) and Beware the Batman.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures: Leatherhead was originally a human named Jess Harley from the Southern swamps. Being poor, he broke into the home of the alligator-obsessed swamp witch Mary Bones and stole a magical artifact before fleeing to New York City. However, Mary Bones followed him to New York City, and she transformed him into an alligator as punishment.
- All Dogs Go to Heaven: King Gator is an American alligator and voodoo Witch Doctor who lives in the sewers below New Orleans.
- Arlo the Alligator Boy: Arlo is a sweet, musically-gifted human-alligator hybrid from the Louisiana bayou.
- The Princess and the Frog: Given the film is set in Louisiana, the alligators of the bayou all have a New Orleans dialect. One of these gators, Louis (modeled after Louis Armstrong), is also passionate about the jazz culture and loves playing the trumpet.
- Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation features Buster and Babs running into the home of the Boo family, which consists of a Southern gator and his three daughters, all of whom want to marry Buster. The father speaks with a southern drawl, and is more than willing to subject Buster to a Shotgun Wedding (another Southern stereotype), even if it means Buster has to marry all three girls at once.
- The Bad Guys: Granny Gumbo is a witch doctor living in the swamplands, making her a Visual Pun of an Apothecary Alligator.
- Iron Kingdoms: The gatormen of the Blindwater Congregation (a military alliance operating in the swamps) serve as the Fantasy Counterpart Culture to Louisianians (complete with Cajun accents). While they're highly savage, the gatormen specialize in a gory version of Hollywood Voodoo involving necromancy, zombie-like thralls, and summoning Loa-like gods; gatormen witch doctors even wear feathers, skulls, and the like.
- Brain Dead 13: The alligator cook speaks with a Cajun accent, and will immediately attack Lance with a meat cleaver if Lance runs into him.
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach: Montgomery Gator is an animatronic gator with a Cajun accent. He seems to be named after Montgomery, the capital city of Alabama. His "official" backstory, as per his dark ride in the Ruin DLC, reveals that he used to be a laid-back hillbilly shown with a Backwater Banjo, adding to the southern theming.
- Hotline Miami: Invoked. Jones has a crocodile mask and operates in Miami, Florida.
- Rivals of Aether: Invoked with Gumbo the alligator cook. He's named after the Cajun stew originating from New Orleans.
- Shadows Over Loathing: The gatormen are hillbillies living in the Big Moist, a nasty swamp where a Backwater Banjo is prominently featured in its soundtrack.
- Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus: Mz. Ruby is a Cajun alligator from the Haitian swamps and a member of the Fiendish Five. She uses voodoo to summon evil spirits and punish her enemies.
- Legends of Avantris: The leader of the Krew, Kremy Lecroux, is an alligator Lizardfolk warlock Con Man who is from Avantris' version of the South. He grew up in a swamp town called Whipporwallow Swamp before moving to Agwé, the world's version of New Orleans. He has a Louisianan accent, refers to his grandmother as "Meemaw", is loosely based on Dr. Facilier, and cooks a fine gumbo.
- Bunnicula: The alligator ghost haunting the family's home has the accent and personality of a Southern Belle. Justified, as the series takes place in New Orleans.
- The Fairly OddParents!: In "The Grass is Greener", one of the carnies who Timmy meets is an anthropomorphic alligator, who states he's from the bayou when the other carnies reveal themselves as fairies.
- The Raccoons: Mr. Knox is an alligator business mogul who talks with a Southern accent, and wears a ten-gallon hat and a bolo tie.
- Superjail!: In "The Superjail Six", the Warden gets lost in the outskirts of Superjail, which houses a bayou filled with a race of hillbilly alligator people. The Warden ends up settling in the commune and starts a family there for six months, until his reckless antics and destruction of the swamp's sacred tree incite the hillbillies to attack Superjail in retaliation.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987): This version of Leatherhead was originally a giant albino alligator from the Everglades. Upon making contact with swamp water contaminated with mutagen and a Cajun trapper that was hunting him, Leatherhead mutated into a green-scaled humanoid gator and gained the trapper's Cajun accent, skills, and personality.
- Wally Gator: Zigzagged; Wally is a subversion, since he has a standard American accent from living in a zoo. Played straight with the Everglades alligators, which include Harmony (a stereotypical Southern Belle alligator) and Beauregard (a beefy male alligator with tints of Southern-Fried Private who still wore the confederate symbol on his cap, although he wasn't exactly stupid). Wally himself is portrayed more at home in the Deep South outside his title series, often being found in swamps in crossovers (like Yogi's Great Escape, which also showed him to be good at cooking things like gumbo) and excelling at events set in and around water, especially marshes (in Laff-A-Lympics). Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law parodies this by portraying Wally as an unhinged, violent redneck.
- Woody Woodpecker: Woody's enemy Gabby Gator has a Southern accent and uses Southern phrases.