JAF
20th May 2010, 04:10 AM
We took our first visit to Gatorland today and had a much better time than expected.
The way they presented the gator wrestling and jumperoo were far more interesting than we had thought they would be.
We were amazed at the numbers of nesting birds we saw and the variety. We were able to spot everything from nests with eggs, to newly hatched chicks, to chicks being fed by parents right through to those who will shortly start flying. We also had to laugh at one of the birds who stood for ages in front of the counter where they were selling turkey sausages to feed to the gators until he was given a sausage. The assistant said he ran up a big line of credit on a regular basis.
Being a wildlife area you can sometimes see things not so good but still interesting! I had to get an assistant to turn a turtle over in the enclosure with the young gators as one was trying to eat the upside down turtle. He recognised it as being something in a soft shell, as the undersides are softer than the top, but has not yet learnt that they pull their legs into the shells so he still was not going to get a snack. Luckily no harm was done as the keeper turned the turtle and told the gator he was not getting a free snack!
The way they presented the gator wrestling and jumperoo were far more interesting than we had thought they would be.
We were amazed at the numbers of nesting birds we saw and the variety. We were able to spot everything from nests with eggs, to newly hatched chicks, to chicks being fed by parents right through to those who will shortly start flying. We also had to laugh at one of the birds who stood for ages in front of the counter where they were selling turkey sausages to feed to the gators until he was given a sausage. The assistant said he ran up a big line of credit on a regular basis.
Being a wildlife area you can sometimes see things not so good but still interesting! I had to get an assistant to turn a turtle over in the enclosure with the young gators as one was trying to eat the upside down turtle. He recognised it as being something in a soft shell, as the undersides are softer than the top, but has not yet learnt that they pull their legs into the shells so he still was not going to get a snack. Luckily no harm was done as the keeper turned the turtle and told the gator he was not getting a free snack!