My favorite alligator farm is The St Augustine Alligator Farm at the top of Florida. Its an amazing place filled with every kind of crocodile and alligator in the world. There is something about watching a large reptile chewing up its food and swallowing in great gulps that is fascinating.
The Wife is a big fan of this kind of thing and we have been to many places that have loads of gators sitting around waiting for feeding time. I like seeing bins filled with baby gators-those eager little eyes and disarming smiles.
So we stopped by Gators & Friends in Louisiana this morning and had a look around. This is kind of half Alligator Farm and half petting zoo. All kinds of exotic animals are in pens waiting for the tourists to come by and feed them something. Lots of small goats, which have always intrigued me just as a little, as what use is a tiny goat? They all seemed really intent on that whole head butting thing. There were a couple of Highland Cows, which I missed seeing when in Scotland as they were all up in the Highlands somewhere. A couple of very large Capybaras were thoughtful munching on something and totally ignored us. There was a baby zebra, baby camels, and even a baby Highland Cow. Goats and lamas and several kinds of deer. A couple wallaby and some kangaroos. All in all a pretty good mix of animals.
And lots of alligators swimming around in pools blinding green with duckweed. It’s always fun to see just the eyes popping out of the water and then disappear as the gator hides from view by dropping out of sight. Other alligators were not so worried about being seen and sat on the shores with their large mouths open, just case something to eat should happen by.
I’m always a bit taken aback when I go to alligator farms that are selling alligator heads, alligator hand back scratchers, and alligator skin boots and wallets. I would not be too happy to go to a regular zoo and find the restaurant selling Giraffe Steaks or Dolphin Stew. But most gator places seem to have no problem with selling these kinds of items. I know that alligators die from time to time, but do they really need to sell their skulls in the gift shop?
Other than causing my inner PETA to peek out, these are fun places to visit and a great way to see all kinds of animals up close and personal. How often do you get to hand feed a baby camel, baby giraffe, or a full grown miniature horse? There were too many fences in the way for my photographic desires, but I still got a few good shots.
As always, I’m a sucker for the Tourist Attraction.
