Sunday, November 11, 2007

Everglades Gators

About two hours south of Port Charlotte is the Everlades… and Everglades City.  We took an airboat tour (one of many available in the area).  


Gator1
This is an eleven foot (approx.) alligator that miraculously came swimming up to our airboat when Cap’n Steve called to him from the side of the swamp. “Come here boy.”  I guess it was looking to be fed….. though he didn’t feed it.  (It’s illegal to feed them.)… But I’m thinking it’s good for business.


Gator 2
This is me with a 2 foot live gator after our tour.  This particular gator is handled by most of the airboat tourists (photo ops like this).


A few alligator facts courtesy of our guide Cap’n Steve:



  • Gators live up to 120 years

  • They grow up to 14 feet in length and weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

  • Cap’n Steve said that there are 3–4 gators for every person in Florida. 

  • Gators are fresh water reptiles while crocodiles are salt water reptiles.

  • Although the tail of the alligator is considered the prime cut, all the meat of the alligator is edible.

  • Alligators can run at speeds of up to 20–30 miles per hour on land.

  • Alligators have a round snout while crocodiles have a tapered snout.

 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just a small correction... We have plenty crocodiles in Africa and they're usually found inland - far from saltwater...

Anonymous said...

Saltwater crocs obviously live in or near saltwater. But there also are freshwater varieties of crocs.

Nonetheless, very cool photos and info.

Derek Brink said...

...so how far were you able to throw it?

Anonymous said...

It's only illegal to feed them if someone sees you -otherwise it doesn't count.

Anonymous said...

When I was little we used to have a little stuffed gator from florida. I used to play with it all the time until its leg fell off. Then it lived in the closet on a high shelf. Wonder what ever happened to Snappy?

Anonymous said...

There is a monster Croc somewhere in Africa that is supposedly around 30 feet long called Gustave. They even made a movie of him.

Anonymous said...

Just an idea of a place you might want to visit is PooPoo Point in Washington State.

Anonymous said...

I seriously doubt that any reptilians exist in excess of 25 feet.