【Esther Studer】

Damn,Esther Studer alligators are tough.

Last week, the Shallotte River Swamp Park posted videos on Facebook of its gators poking their nostrils through the ice to survive unusually cold temperatures, a result of the "bomb cyclone" that hit the eastern United States.

On Tuesday, the tactic paid off -- the ice melted a bit in the park's alligator sanctuary, and the creatures were alive and well.

The park is located in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina -- a state that, like much of the East Coast, experienced its coldest first week of January on record since 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The cold-blooded alligators entered a state similar to hibernation to slow down their metabolism. Of course, they still needed to breathe, which is why they stuck their cute lil' jaws through the ice.

Luckily for the gators, it's supposed to warm up quite a bit later this week.

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})