A Visit to Gatorland

When Megan and Melissa were with us, we spent a good part of a day at a place called Gatorland.  It's a great place to see alligators, crocodiles, and birds, as well as a few other species as well.  It was a beautiful day, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves.

A crocodile has a much narrower snout than an alligator.  Anna and Rylee, see if you can find out one other difference.  

 

This was one VERY large alligator who crawled out of the water to soak up some rays! 

 This Florida Panther is a beautiful cat!

 There were 2 tortoises, and this was the smallest one.  He was still huge! 

This little train took us on a trip around a lot of the property, giving us a kind of overview of Gatorland. 

 

Anna and Rylee, what do you think this fellow is saying to the tourists? 

One of our views from the train.  I'm not sure why these black vultures are hanging around with the cows.  This one didn't look like he was going to die any time soon! 

 

We had to separate to watch the Jumperoo show, if we wanted a place by the rail.  These two squeezed in at one spot, we found another. 

 I think even Cooter was surprised when this big gator almost jumped out of the water! 

 This big fellow came right up on the platform after the chicken......

 

.....and didn't quit trying until he fell into the water! 

 I think these two are BFF's!  The one on the right put his wing over top of the other one - cute! 

It is amazing how God saw fit to colour these gorgeous birds!  The way the black lines around his eye are set, he kind of looks mad!  Don't think I want to get too close! 

Thankfully, this little Pygmy Rattlesnake was behind glass, but I thought it was so cute that he stuck his head out of the flowers.

This is the Cotton Mouth, called that because when he opens his mouth to attack, it is pure white inside, and looks like cotton.  They are pretty venomous!  Girls, please look up the word venomous and see what it means. 

There are 2 kinds of white alligators.  One is an albino and the other is a leucistic.  The albino is fairly common, but the leucistic is VERY rare, discovered in a swamp in Louisiana.

Here's an assignment for you, Anna and Rylee.  Find out what the difference is regarding their eyes, then you will know which one is the Leucistic alligator. 

Megan loved going into the caged area with lots of parakeets!  We couldn't persuade Melissa to go in.  She, like my friend Marj, is not a lover of birds!

 We saw another show which was called gator wrestling, and watched this fellow doing amazing things with this alligator.  The alligator did NOT want to be there! 

 The strangest thing was that he wrestled the gator upside down, and the gator "went to sleep".    It actually laid there quietly on its back until the wrestler "tickled it" and woke it up.  Then it plopped over and went back into the water.  Funny! 

Girls, what is this strange bird called, and where would you find one living? 

 Another show we saw was Up-close Encounters.  This very brave young woman didn't even seem to mind having this huge black widow spider placed on her hand. 

 This tiny, full-grown  Pygmy Rattlesnake is very dangerous, because he has a very tiny rattle which you would not hear, so you would be unaware of his presence, and you might step on him, at which time he would be sure to bite you! 

 The much larger Diamond-back Rattlesnake doesn't want you to come near him, so he warns you with his much larger and noisier rattle. Even though they are both very venomous, you are much more likely to be bitten by the pygmy.

When I go to see this show, I always sit near the back and all the way to the outside edge, because I do NOT wish to be chosen for some of the things they do, like holding this python! 

My very favorite thing to do at Gatorland was to walk through the large marsh area on a boardwalk which is a breeding area for birds and alligators.  This little Snowy Egret found something yummy to eat in the marsh.  

And this Great American Egret also found something to eat, and had quite a time getting it down!  I think he almost bit off more than he could chew!

 I think this resting alligator was in his happy place, judging by the huge "smile"! 

The alligators are not free to go outside of the park, but are very well fed within.  The birds are quite free to come and go at will, but also find lots to eat here. 

I sure was in MY happy place when I was able to see right into the nest of this Great American Egret!  

 There were three babies in the nest, fairly newly hatched I think.  So cute and fluffy!

 

I think Mama was giving them a bite to eat. 

The Black-crowned Night Heron is relatively rare - at least I haven't seen too many of them.  

 If I were this Great Blue Heron, I would be moving along! 

 There were several deer in the park, but it was cool to see this white one.  Not sure if it was albino or not. 

We walked along a board walk to see some flamingos and this Wood Stork was guarding the way.  Not being a bird-lover, Melissa needed a vanguard to escort her past. 

These gorgeous-coloured birds get their colour from the food they eat, and in captivity, need a chemical added to the food to achieve this wonderful colour.

The unique beak of the flamingo allows him to feed from a standing position, and still scoop up and strain small creatures from the water.  Another one of God's amazing critters!  

 This big fellow seemed to be saying goodbye as we were leaving the park.