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Back to the "Junior Florida Explorer's Page" home page |
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Gatorland |
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A day with some real Florida natives. |
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When everyone thinks about parks in Florida, they think about Disney and Universal Studios. But those are places aren't really Florida. If you want to see the real Florida then you need to go to Gatorland. The animals here aren't mice and ducks or big apes and killer sharks, they are snakes and crocodiles and gators. And this is the place to see them. So if you are wanting to see neat animals and cool birds and lots of dangerous gators and crocodiles then you need to go here. |
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Gatorland may look a little funny on the outside, but the inside is really cool. It doesn't take all day to see everything here and it doesn't cost that much to get in. That makes this a great places to take the whole family, and have some fun while learning about some of Florida's oldest natives. There is something here for everyone to see and learn. |
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My dad and I have come here lots of times over the past few years, but our last visit was because I had to do a science fair project for school, and I chose Florida alligators and crocodiles. So my dad called Gatorland and he got to talk to Gail Schneider, she is the Curator there, that means she is the person who takes care of the animals. |
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She invited us to come in and and talk to her and some of the other people that work there with the animals. So my dad and I showed up the next weekend I was with him and we came with our camera and tape recorder and lots of questions.
First we met with Miss Shnieder, and she brought us to her office and talked to her about Florida alligators and crocodiles for almost an hour. She told us about how they hunt and how they make nests and are really good parents. She also told us how there are lots of crocodiles all over the world, but alligators are only found here in Florida and in China.
She told us about how gators and crocodiles are dangerous, but they don't really hunt people. But if you feed them, they will start to expect to get food from people. They can even think that people are food, and that is when they become dangerous. |
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After we talked to Miss Shnieder, she took us into the park and we went with her to the Gator Wrestling show. Now this is the fun stuff. They have a doughnut shaped pit with an island in the center. In the pit they have lots of alligators, and one of the gator wrestlers goes into the pit and pulls out a gator to show us. These aren't small gators ether, they are all about 6 feet and bigger. They tell you about how gators have really strong jaws, and they can bite really hard. But their muscles in their jaws are made to bite and hold things tight, but they aren't that strong for opening the mouth. The wrestlers show you by holding the gator's mouth closed with only the fingers of one hand.
They show you how a gators eyes work and how they can drop them into their heads to protect them. You can also learn about the history behind Gator Wrestling and why it was important for Florida cowboys to know how to gator wrestle.
But I'll give you a hint about something, when the gator wrestler askes you what is the most dangerous part of the gator. Answer the "mouth" not the "tail". You'll look less like a tourist that way.
After the show you can even do something that you can tell your friends about. You can sit on the back of an alligator. They pull a really big one out of the pit and let you sit on it and hold its mouth shut. Don't worry, they tape the mouth closed before you sit on its back. It is really fun and not something you get to do everyday. And just incase your friends don't believe you, you can get a picture of it to prove it.
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Now they have more than Gator Wrestling at Gatorland. They have the Gator Jumparoo, where you can see how high some gators and crocs can jump. They also have a petting zoo, a bird house, snakes, and even a black bear named Judy, (that's my Mom's name).
They also have crocodiles from around the world. This is neat because you can see crocodiles from Egypt, Australia, even from Cuba. But don't be fooled by the size. Just because the Cuban crocodiles are small doesn't means they are less dangerous. They are smart and hunt in packs just like Velosarapters did back with the dinosuars. Maybe the are cousins?
You can even take a step back in time and walk on their nature walk in a real Florida swamp. But before you go into the swamp, stop at Pearl's Smokehouse and eat some gator tail and ribs. They are great, and now it doesn't taste like chicken.
And all this cool stuff sits around a big lake full of hungry gators, that you can get some food for and feed. But remember don't swim with them. |
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They will keep you busy here and you'll do alot of walking. But really this is a good half day trip for the whole family, or just friends, or even scout troups, and school field trips. You can even check out their educational programs. They even have some where you can go and help them with the gators. Cool Beans !
But if you get tired with all the walking, they have lots of places to sit down and just watch the aniamls. But don't fall asleep because you never what may come along and think you would make a good snack.
So I really recomend that you check out Gatorland if you want to do some Florida exploring. On the "Junior Florida Explorer's Rating" of 1 to 10, I give Gatorland "8 cool beans". |
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You can check out more about Gatorland at their website below. Or you can call them at 1-800-393-JAWS.
http://www.gatorland.com |
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