Gatorama is an alligator farm and visitor attraction in Palmdale, Florida, USA. Alligators and crocodiles are raised on the farm for meat and skins.[1] Gatorama is one of Florida's oldest roadside attractions.[2][3][4] Only six alligator farms are open to the public as attractions.[5]

History

Cecil Clemons opened the farm in 1957.[6][5][7] The alligators were captured locally in the 1960s.[7] Wild crocodiles were caught in Jamaica in 1967-1968.[7]

Allen and Patty Register acquired the property in 2006.[6][8]

Attractions

Visitors can hold baby alligators as well as pythons.[2][6] Adult participants can perform the "Fast Hands Challenge" to feed an adult alligator.[9] The daily feed show is free with admission, where guests can watch keepers hand feed alligators from the front bridge.[9]

Gatorama has an exhibit dedicated to the critically endangered subspecies Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius).[10] The park works with Florida Fish and Wildlife's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) program to rehome nuisance alligators.[11][12][13]

Gatorama also features other native Florida wildlife such as the Florida panther, bobcats, racoons, birds, and snakes.[6][5][8]

In late August, Gatorama hosts an annual Gator Hatchling Festival where visitors can hold an alligator egg while it hatches.[3][6][5]

Gatorama also sells exotic meat at the park and on their website.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "Gatorama Alligator Farm". Gatorama. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Pictures: Gatorama". Chicago Tribune. May 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Gatorama". My Old Florida. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Mays, Dorothy (2009). "Gatorland: Survival of the Fittest among Florida's Mid-Tier Tourist Attractions". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 87 (4): 509–539. ISSN 0015-4113.
  5. ^ a b c d Meer, Elizabeth Vander (November 3, 2017). "Alligator Song: A Challenge to Spectacle, Product, and Menace". Society & Animals. 28 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1163/15685306-12341480. ISSN 1568-5306.
  6. ^ a b c d e Caceres, Vanessa (September 7, 2018). "Gatorama: Grunts, Hisses and Old Florida Charm". Visit Florida. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Garrick, Leslie D.; Lang, Jeffrey W. (1977). "Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles". American Zoologist. 17 (1): 225–239. ISSN 0003-1569.
  8. ^ a b "Gatorama". local.aarp.org. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Animal Encounters". Gatorama. August 8, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "ORINOCO CROCODILE". Gatorama. August 8, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "NUISANCE ALLIGATOR POD". Gatorama. August 8, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  12. ^ Worley, Debra (February 20, 2023). "Alligator living with tape around its mouth freed and relocated". WWNY. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program". Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Jacobson, Susan (March 31, 2015). "Appetite for gator meat grows in Florida". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "Reptile chic: UF wildlife ecologist says Florida alligator farmers cashing in on fashion trend - News - University of Florida". news.ufl.edu. March 27, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2023.

26°55′3″N 81°17′27″W / 26.91750°N 81.29083°W / 26.91750; -81.29083

Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatorama
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