Alligators have been filmed in North Carolina trying to stay alive in a frozen pond by sticking their snouts through a sheet of ice.

Footage taken by an NBC affiliate station showed a handful of the reptiles at the Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach breathing through gaps they created using their snouts in a pond that has been frozen by the brutal cold spell ravaging the United States.

Experts say once the alligators are able to breathe through the ice, they fall into a state of hibernation known as brumation by lowering their body temperatures and metabolism.

Once it becomes warm and the ice melts, the creatures thermoregulate their body temperatures to their regular state.

Bone-chilling arctic air has created dangerous conditions for a large portion of the US and has resulted in at least 18 deaths since the beginning of the new year, including four in North Carolina traffic accidents and three in Texas.

Sorry, this video has expired Florida resident finds frozen iguanas after cold snap

Sorry, this video has expired Animals enjoying US winter storm

Reuters