Kid Territory: Critters: Amiable Alligators
Bayou had a rough start in life, but now he's the center of attention!
Little Myakka has a lot of growing to do: one day she may be 8 to 10 feet long.
Look for Bayou taking a stroll with one of his trainers on your next visit to the Wild Animal Park.
Myakka doesn't seem to mind meeting new people. Here, she lets a young guest touch her.
Wild Animal Park names: Myakka and Bayou
Species: American alligator
Location: Wild Animal Park’s Wildlife Education Compound
Their stories
Myakka and Bayou are the Wild Animal Park's two American alligator animal ambassadors, and they have a very important job. They meet and greet the public and show them that alligators are kind of cute and not that scary!
Bayou is a male and weighs 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms). He was hatched at the San Diego Zoo in 1998 as part of a trial incubation. The reptile keepers wanted to improve their incubation methods before trying to raise a very endangered crocodile species at the Zoo. Bayou was the runt of his litter and was picked on by his bigger siblings, who even managed to bite off a toe! The rest of Bayou's clutch was returned to the wild in Louisiana, but Bayou came to live at the Park with the rest of the animal ambassadors.
Myakka hatched in 2004 and weigh 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms). Hers is a much different story. Myakka was being kept illegally as a pet, which is a federal crime. Her owners must not have thought about what would happen when she grew to her full length, between 8 and 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters)—that's a little too big to still fit in the bathtub!
Crocodilian comeback
In our very recent history, American alligators have been to the brink of extinction and back. As the human population grows and development expands, alligators are pushed into smaller and smaller areas. There can be problems when they become too comfortable around humans. Tour guides in alligator habitat often bring whole chickens or bags of marshmallows to get alligators to come close to their boats. These alligators come to think of food when they see humans, and when the alligator sees a human who has no food to offer, it may attack. These attacks have made people very fearful of alligators, and the gators are often killed when they try to return to the backyards that were once part of their swamp territory. Alligators have been hunted for their skins to make belts, bags, and boots. However, alligator farms have actually helped the wild population, because the shoe and bag manufacturers take the skins from farmed alligators instead of from the wild. The farmers are also required to return a certain percentage of their alligators back to the wild.
Out and about
Myakka and Bayou often come out for animal presentations and photo opportunities and seem to enjoy being handled. Bayou is trained to walk on a leash, and you may see him taking a short stroll. You may even get to touch them and find out what alligators feel like. If you see Bayou, you may notice that his mouth is taped shut. This does not hurt him, and it isn’t to keep him from biting. His mouth is kept closed so that if he swings his head about, he doesn't scrape someone with his sharp little teeth! During feeding time, a divider is put in their tank and the food is dropped in on the side where the alligator isn't, then the divider is removed. This way, Bayou and Myakka don't associate people with food.
Where you can see them
On your next visit to the Wild Animal Park, take a look at the schedule for Animal Encounters. You may get to see one of our amazing alligators for yourself!
More
Animal Bytes: Crocodilian
Wild Animal Park: Animal Encounters
