BREEDING PONDS:

As farming production began, plans were discussed to release a certain percentage of each crop the wild. It soon became apparent that this release was not needed. The wild alligator population had skyrocketed because the huge demand that had pushed illegal poaching was being satisfied by commercial farming. Today there are over 1.5 million alligators in the wild in Florida alone. The reptile is one of the few animals to be removed from the endangered species list. In fact Florida now allows controlled alligator hunts just to keep the population under control.

Located on the nature trail behind the gift shop, you will find some of the farm's largest breeders. These ponds are arranged to give the alligators as much privacy as possible. A large amount of vegetation is needed to encourage the females to build nests. We try to maintain a female to male ratio two to one. Mating takes place in May and early June each year. The mother gator in captivity will lay up to 45 eggs. The eggs are removed by us and placed in an incubator where temperature and humidity are strictly controlled. The sex of the baby alligator is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are kept.