We hatched some modern-day, baby dinosaurs out of their eggs this week … alligators! It’s a fantastic experience, but it’s only legal at Gatorama in Palmdale, Florida (it’s the only place I know of in Florida, anyway). Gatorama only offers this to the public for 11 days at the end of August. We try to go every year, but sometimes we blink and miss it.
Alligators are a part of our life in SW Florida. We have to be careful in our yard because they tend to lurk in the bushes at the edge of our riverbank. We are always alert when walking around our yard. It isn’t a frequent occurrence to see one in the yard, but it is very common to see them coasting around our yard. It’s kinda like a moat that doesn’t quite go all the way around our castle. So, forget the dogs, beware of the gators… it’s a dead-end.
Alligators are a threatened species in Florida, even though there seem to be a lot of them. Apparently, only 2% survive into adulthood in the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants a special license or permit to handle the gators. It is illegal to harass or feed alligators in Florida. If an alligator is fed, they lose their fear of humans, and then we’re really in trouble.
Alligator feeding at Gatorama... Yikes!
A little girl holding a young gator at last year's Swamp Cabbage Festival.
An alligator nest... and big moma's always near-by!
That's me helping a baby alligator out of the egg.
Loring & Grayson hatching baby gators.
Helping baby alligators into the world.
The baby gator is still attached to its egg with an umbilical cord.
Enormous alligator skulls.
The owner of Gatorama holding a baby gator.
Alligators are a part of our environment in Southwest Florida. There’s a lot of water around here. We try to stay a healthy distance from them. However, if you ever find yourself face-to-face with a gator on land, you can toss something to the side of its snout and it will go for whatever you tossed to it. It might buy you a few seconds.
Come grow with us!
Pick Me Yard 