by Joe (son) and Lori
In our roamings around South Florida, we discovered that there is an alligator farm not far from the Everglades. The farms are actually a central part in the rehabilitation and recovery efforts for (formerly) the American Alligator and (now) the American Crocodile. Besides conservation efforts, however, alligator farms also serve as amazing sightseeing stops! We were able to take an airboat ride through the farm, and we found quite a few small gators and a horde of gorgeous birds (it was a little chilly for the really big gators). An airboat is a passenger-carrying, flat-bottomed craft with a giant propeller on the back of the boat. The motor is really loud, but it enables the boat to glide on the surface of the water, which is perfect for navigating the shallow, muddy grass-rivers that make up the area. Everglades Alligator Farm also hosts a large collection of other animals, from various iguanas to many varieties of snakes to parrots to tortoises. They also had a panther and a few species of crocodiles, which are often mistaken for alligators. The most obvious differences between gators and crocs are their coloring: gators are almost black, while crocs are an olive green. The snout of a gator is U-shaped, while a croc's snout is pretty pointy. Also, only the top teeth of a gator are visible when the mouth is closed, but both upper and lower teeth are visible in a croc (not that you'd want to get to close to them for confirmation!). Travis, one of the handlers at the Farm, put on a few demonstrations throughout the day. Mom swallowed her fear of snakes and became very familiar with a 9 foot Ball Python during the snake show, and Travis awed us all with an assortment of stunts involving his face and hands and a gator's jaws during the gator show. We all got to hold a few young gators after the show - even if they were only a foot long and their mouths were taped shut! We also got to watch Travis feed several gators. It really was something to see - the one gator nearly jumped over the fence!
In our roamings around South Florida, we discovered that there is an alligator farm not far from the Everglades. The farms are actually a central part in the rehabilitation and recovery efforts for (formerly) the American Alligator and (now) the American Crocodile. Besides conservation efforts, however, alligator farms also serve as amazing sightseeing stops! We were able to take an airboat ride through the farm, and we found quite a few small gators and a horde of gorgeous birds (it was a little chilly for the really big gators). An airboat is a passenger-carrying, flat-bottomed craft with a giant propeller on the back of the boat. The motor is really loud, but it enables the boat to glide on the surface of the water, which is perfect for navigating the shallow, muddy grass-rivers that make up the area. Everglades Alligator Farm also hosts a large collection of other animals, from various iguanas to many varieties of snakes to parrots to tortoises. They also had a panther and a few species of crocodiles, which are often mistaken for alligators. The most obvious differences between gators and crocs are their coloring: gators are almost black, while crocs are an olive green. The snout of a gator is U-shaped, while a croc's snout is pretty pointy. Also, only the top teeth of a gator are visible when the mouth is closed, but both upper and lower teeth are visible in a croc (not that you'd want to get to close to them for confirmation!). Travis, one of the handlers at the Farm, put on a few demonstrations throughout the day. Mom swallowed her fear of snakes and became very familiar with a 9 foot Ball Python during the snake show, and Travis awed us all with an assortment of stunts involving his face and hands and a gator's jaws during the gator show. We all got to hold a few young gators after the show - even if they were only a foot long and their mouths were taped shut! We also got to watch Travis feed several gators. It really was something to see - the one gator nearly jumped over the fence!