See Ya Later Alligator at the Insta-Gator Ranch

This past weekend, Kiddo got invited to a friend's birthday party at the Insta-Gator Alligator Ranch on the Northshore of New Orleans. We had been waiting for her to be old enough to go, so she was super excited to be able to see the alligators up close and personal! Plus the idea of an alligator 'farm' got her off into the giggles every time it got said!

Insta-Gator is one of the oldest Alligator ranches in Louisiana, and the ONLY one that has tours! So it is very special indeed! Now I know what you're thinking, WHY is there a need for an alligator ranch? 


Well back in 1962 it was determined that the American Alligator, native to Louisiana, was actually about to be ENDANGERED and they were put on the endangered species list, and all alligator hunting was ceased for 10 years! The state of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries program started a conservation program in 1972, and started the current program of allowing alligator ranches to go to the swamps, harvest alligator eggs and return some of the grown alligators back to the wild. Now you would think that Mama Alligator with her big mouth could protect her babies, so conservation would NOT be needed, right? But we learned some interesting facts:

• Why is it called a Ranch and not a Farm? Alligator Farms are allowed to BREED alligators on site for their eggs. Ranches go out to the swamps and COLLECT the eggs, in order to save them.

Sample nest at the ranch (sorry Kiddo moved and put her head in the way), you can see how big it is!

• Mama alligator builds a nest, puts her eggs (20-40 each time) in there, covers them up and pretty much walks away for awhile. Yup, BAD Mama! Which means that the eggs are easy prey for small carnivores and snakes!
• Alligator's brains are SMALLER than their EYES! Yup, they have dinosaur brains. They are hard-wired for certain things, like building the nest and thats it! in fact, if the nest is disturbed and some of the eggs eaten, when Mama Alligator comes back to check it, she will stand ON the surviving eggs, smashing them, while she rebuilds the nest (remember their legs are short). She doesn't care, as long as the nest looks good again. Apparently the dinosaur Martha gene isn't complete! One of the reasons only 10-20% of the eggs make it to hatching!
• Alligator embryos attach to the TOP of the inner shell, so if the shell gets rolled, the embryos suffocate and die! They only collect the eggs with white bands naturally on the top, as that is an indicator that the embryo inside is alive and ok! When the rancher's collect the eggs, they mark the tops, so they keep them upright while transporting them!
• Mama Alligator ONLY gets protective of her nest when the embryos are babies inside the eggs, and start 'chirping/clicking'- her brain is hard wired to know that sound as what she has to protect. She may still step on them, but she'll keep the other predators away. So they've got a 50/50 chance to make it!
• The heat index of a nest will determine if there are boys or girls- if it is 92 degrees, you get all boys, 86 degrees, you get all girls (ok, so I guess there is some truth to cold-blooded female in the alligator world...). The ranchers have found if they keep eggs at 89 degrees they get a mixture of boys and girls.

Meet Red Beans- his sibling is named Rice!

• Every alligator in America shares the SAME birth month! They are ALL born in August! More dinosaur hard-wiring at work! Plus, the entire nest will hatch at the SAME time!
• Baby alligators are 9 inches long when born (the one above is about 13 inches long.
• Baby alligators bite their way out of their shells (why they have 2 egg tooths= very sharp), and if you pick one up right away they will BITE you! They are born with ALL 80 teeth. AND if one falls out, they grow BACK! Great dental plan Mother Nature gave them,huh? They may look cute, but they are still dangerous!
• Baby alligators can swim as soon as they are born- part of their hard-wired brain.

Yearlings

• The alligators above are 4 ft long. They are ONLY a year old! When they get to be 5 ft long, they get released back to the wild. 12 out of 100 are sent back, rest become alligator meat and belts/purses/shoes. Insta-gator actually sells their own meat and skins/items made from them, at their gift shop!

• Did you know that an alligator closes it's throat normally? They swallow their prey whole and have to move them around to go down head first- they aren't chewing their prey when you see them eat- they are moving it into position, before they open their throat flap! Which is what Jim is showing us above.
• And yes, he got IN the tank with the gators! The gators 'sense' with receptors on their snouts that there is movement in the water, and back away from it, when they know something is TOO big for them attack (like Jim) - more Dinosaur DNA at work. The food we threw? THAT they attacked and fought each other for!
• An alligator has 2500 per square inch of pressure when they bite.Typical adult alligator mouth is about 14 inches long. Yup that's a HUGE amount of pressure!  In fact, their's is the worst bite in the animal world, due to the amount of pressure.
• Alligators have LONG lives, 50 years is normal in the wild!The conservation efforts have worked SO well, that now there are 4 million people in the State of Louisiana,  and 3 million alligators! Yup, they're BAACCKK!

• Males can reach up to 12/14 feet in length, females 8-9 normally. The model above at the ranch is life size. The kids found it fascinating! 

• NO he is NOT a happy camper. he kept looking at us like "Save me!" Kiddo was totally enthralled with him! I think he was attracted to her bow- he kept watching her! 
• Did you know that you can NOT hypnotize an alligator by rolling them onto their back? What you are actually doing is making them SO dizzy that they can't do anything but collapse from the vertigo! When flipped back upright it instantly goes away and they are fine. More dinosaur dna!

• As you can see, even at a year old, they look cute. But they can RUN FAST!!! 11mph may not seem like much, but when you're not expecting it, it's quick! For a small child or dog, that can be deadly! Remember, these are CARNIVORES, not pets!

We had alot of fun and learned a whole lot more than what I put here- I just gave you the facts I found the most interesting! 

The ranch has really great plans and area for birthday parties- the fee includes birthday parents and invited kids, then their parents pay a reduced rate for the tour. Kids get special favors from the ranch as well! if you come mid-August into September, you get to see the eggs hatching and they have a small pool where kids can pet and play with the baby alligators (mouths taped)! Be prepared for the gift shop though- the prices are really reasonable for the kid stuff, and there is plenty they will want. Kiddo got a t-shirt and a book (her choice-she chose it over a toy or jewelry- YEAH!). If you are looking for a great and unique birthday party idea, the ranch if PERFECT!

Planning a different kids event? They also take some of the gators on the road for shows! We've seen them at Halloween carnivals and festivals! 

We're definitely planning on going back to see the hatching!

AND if you read ALL of this post, I've rewarding you with TWO extra entries on all giveaways this month,if your follow Insta-Gator on Facebook! Just comment below with what name you are following them with, and then put "ALLIGATOR" on the comment field for the giveaways, as your bonus entry keyword.




Disclosure: No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about the ranch.All opinions are my own, but the facts came from the tour at the Ranch (thanks Jim!)