Established in 1893. 1893?! Yup! This is a designated U.S. Historic District, and it is NOT an alligator farm, so don't be thinking you can get a gator purse, boots, or gator nuggets HERE! This is more like a zoo for gators and crocs. And they are the only such facility to house ALL species of gator, croc, caiman, and gharial! Now, I will warn you - this is going to be a looong blog entry! This first part will be all about my favorite critter on this trip (other than our 4 critters, of course!)! So, get some coffee and chocolate cake, milk and cookies, or root beer and ice cream, (or carrots and celery?! eeuw!), whatever...and here we go!
This is a place where you can pet snakes (and wait till you see what other adventures this park gal gets to do each working day...!). OK, I know some of our friends will definitely NOT be visiting this place now (Barsh, Kathy & Robert,...!!)...
And one of the best parts of this "zoo" is this swamp with its boardwalk. In the trees overhead are tons of birds. They have specifically chosen this place to build their nests and raise their young. Why here? See those little bodies in the water under the boardwalk? Yup, gators! Lots of gators! So why here??? BECAUSE of the gators, of course! Huh?! What?!!! Believe it or not, the birds choose the gators over raccons, possums, skunks, and the like! The water and gators serve as protection from these other would-be enemies of eggs and baby birds! Falling in the water would most likely be fatal, so hatchlings had better get their act together REAL fast. But apparently the parents believe they will have a better chance of at least getting to that stage here! Stay tuned for the bird part - that's in the next entry.
Meet GOMEK. For many years, I guess he was the favorite at the Alligator Farm. At over 17.5 feet long and almost 2,000 pounds, Gomek was one big "salty" (a sort of "term of endearment" for a saltwater crocodile!). Unfortunately, Gomek reached the end of his long life in 1997. You can read more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomek or you can go to the Alligator Farm's own website and see a whole bunch of stuff! http://www.alligatorfarm.com/
But then, you run out of steam, or realize the grass isn't greener over there after all, and so maybe you just decide to stay put. Maybe that little bit of contact is comforting, even to XL, heavy duty, reptile types! So you just sort of stall out on top of one another and fall asleep!
Pretty peaceful-looking place isn't it? Almost like you could just walk out there in the middle of it all and be fine...
And you can! Or at least SHE can! You should've seen the jaws drop on all the people standing around the outside of the enclosure (including me & Bill!), watching her put on the gator show. She starts it by just strolling into the midst of all these alligators, holding just this dinky little stick (in her left hand)!
And this is just a little piece of the big gator picture she's surrounded by!
And...she's feeding them to boot! Little cavies (like guinea pigs - so sorry, Barbara!).
Other tricks of her trade: Can YOU do this with YOUR alligator?!!
Or this???? She must know what the heck she's doing. It's interesting - she's not watching the big gator whose nose she's patting, but her eyes are following the smaller guy swimming past. Like "what you got in mind dude? You're not going to stir up trouble here are you?!" Actually, we figure she's just super alert and aware and knows her gators and what to expect. And those gators are well-fed and smart - they know the routines and that they've got it made!
Waiting on a cavy? Nah, just ventilating, or stretching muscles, or...?
A view of the swamp gators from the boardwalk.
These poor girls thought they had a break and could just hang out and pet their alligator. But no, Ms. Gator Tourist of the Year has to show up and ask to take their picture! Smile you three!
Well, there we go! At least someone's feeling real Smiley today!!!
And here's their current giant - Maximo - the largest saltwater croc at their zoo and, from what I hear, the largest in the eastern US.
OK, look. What was I just telling you about bears making babies and flamingos beyond flirting? Well, looked to me for all the world like gators getting it on... Maybe it's just my dirty mind...!?!
Look at all those pearly whites!!!
Man, someone here must've farted or something! Whatever it was, it was obviously too funny to ignore! Nothing cuter than a bunch of giggling gators!
(well, really it was that someone had just thrown in a bunch of gator chow pellets - you could buy it like bird food at the zoo. Bill was amazed at how these lazy-looking guys were apparently always really paying attention, knew what was going on, and could react quickly when the situation called for it - despite all appearances to the contrary!)
And this guy? I think maybe he was flirting with ME! I mean why else would he try to impress by blowing those bubbles like that?! I think he was definitely giving me THE SIGN! "Hey baby, check this out! I can blow bubbles better and for longer than any of these other dopes in here!"
Oh look, it's raining alligators!
And check out this little guy - he was in a kind of baby gator area. Doesn't he look like Jurassic Park to you??
And I still love the way they "pick up and go!"
It went from being a hot, sunny, humid day to a very rainy, kind of cooler, humid day while we were there. But what a neat place!!!!
Towards the end, in the leftover rain, I went to see their other crocodile and alligator species. Now, seeing some of their little exhibit ponds made me pretty aware of the need to be darn sure of who/what would be in the water with you before going in (or near!)! I mean, are those two logs in there at the bottom or...?!
This is the Nile Crocodile. Besides having a great title, his species is one of the largest crocodilians.And there you have it...the gator part of the Alligator Farm! Love it! They're cute, aren't they??! Oh c'mon...
So here you see the boardwalk over the swamp again. And the wonderful trees all around, just loaded with nesting birds! All kinds of herons, egrets, storks, and roseate spoonbills, and probably a few other types!
I'm not 100% sure on my bird species here, but I think this is some kind of stork, making a special delivery of nesting material.
Coming in for a landing - make way! Some of the trees were pretty crowded!
That's what these baby egrets are saying, no doubt! "Man, move over, you're in my spotlight! Mom likes me the best, and I'm going to get regurgitated on first!"
Check out this chick's hairdo!
And some adult birds, who look like they're still trying to get some action... 
Another bird who's already seen some action! 
A fine looking fellow.
And well...would this qualify as a bad or good hair day?? "Honey, would you still marry me if I looked like this every morning?"
A herony thing. Probably trying to discern his/her babies from everyone else's! "Let's see, which nest was mine again?!"
The haunted jungle... (beware of the Bad Hair Monsters lurking!)
Roseate wings. Like a pink x-ray.
Hello Ms. Spoonbill! And how are you on this fine day?
OK, looks like some kind of common bird, but look at those flashy, irridescent colors!
Check out this chick's hairdo!
A herony thing. Probably trying to discern his/her babies from everyone else's! "Let's see, which nest was mine again?!"
The haunted jungle... (beware of the Bad Hair Monsters lurking!)
Roseate wings. Like a pink x-ray.
Hello Ms. Spoonbill! And how are you on this fine day?
And this is more like, "'Scuse me, bud. You don't gotta move or nothin' - I just gotta go check this thing out over here. I'll just crawl over you, no problemo!" 
