Blue-Eyed Alligators . . .
We lost power here at the park twice last night, but I’m not sure why. The first time was while we were having dinner up in Friendswood, celebrating our friend Aubrey’s 96th birthday.
The reason I knew was that the remote control apps on my phone quickly told me that they had lost connection with the hardware in the coach. Then about 30 minutes later it came back on
Later that night, or this morning, I guess, the power went off again, this time for about 45 minutes before it came back on. Still no idea why.
Finishing up, I thought I’d repost another of our Zoo visits, this one to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL.
Tour Trains & Komodo Dragons June 8, 2009
Today Jan and I did ‘touristy’ stuff
We started off at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. This is probably the nicest small zoo we’ve been to. And believe me, we’ve been to a bunch of them.
They had some very unique displays including komodo dragons, the bird rookery, and the albino alligators.
Founded in 1893, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is one of Florida’s oldest zoological attractions. In the early 1880s, two men began collecting alligators they found on Anastasia Island. These individuals, George Reddington and Felix Fire, were the founders of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm at South Beach.
In 1937, Reddington and Fire sold it to a pair of young business men in the community: W.I. Drysdale and F. Charles Usina. And the Drysdale family still owns the park today.
In 1989, The American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums extended accreditation to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, thereby elevating the institution to a select list of facilities throughout the nation recognized for the quality of their collections and the care afforded them.
The Alligator Farm is the only zoo to have all 23 species of the worlds’ crocodilians exhibited in individual habitats.
Here are some pics:
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These alligators are true albinos with pink eyes. They have no skin pigment.
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There are other white alligators, called leuistic alligators. Unlike albinos, leuistic alligators have pigment. It’s just a white pigment.
And they don’t have pink eyes. They have bright blues eyes. There are only about 12 known in the world, and they are all males.
Leuistic White Alligator
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We really enjoyed seeing the Komodo Dragon again. The last time we saw them was at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. in 1971.
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Reticulated Python
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Northern Cassowary
This is ‘Gomek’. He was a 17 foot, 2000 pound Saltwater Crocodile who lived at the Alligator Farm. When he died, they had him stuffed and put back on display. He just doesn’t move around as much anymore.
Gomek – The Saltwater Crocodile
We really enjoyed The Rookery. This is a walk-thru area with nesting birds in some cases, just inches from the walkway.
Nesting Egrets
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The Rookery
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Wood Stork
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Nesting Roseate Spoonbills
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Stork Chicks
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Nesting Tri-Colored Heron
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Snowy Egret and Hungry Chicks
This is a fake dead zebra. It is used for the realistic feeding of the vultures and storks who regularly feed on carcasses.
“Dead” Zebra
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Hooded Vultures
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West African Crowned Crane
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Black Swan
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Blue and Gold Macaw
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Indian Gharial Crocodile
The hand belongs to Christie. She goes into the pen to feed the alligators. And yes, that is a rat, a dead rat. Apparently, dead rats are alligator treats. The zoo buys them already dead. She said the rats are cheaper than chicken and the gators like them better.
Alligator Feeding Time
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Feeding Skipper
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He knows it’s here somewhere
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Gulp!
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All Gone!
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Taste like Chicken!
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Golden Lion Tamarin
After we left the Alligator Farm, we headed over to take the Old Town Trolley Tour. This is same tour company that we took in Key West. They also have tours in Savannah, Washington, D.C., Boston, and San Diego. We plan on taking this tour in all these cities as we visit them.
One of the places we passed thru on the tour was Magnolia Ave. Strangely enough, there are no magnolia trees on Magnolia Ave. Just some beautiful oaks trees in a canopy over the street.
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After our Trolley Tour, we drove down the road a ways to eat lunch again at the Oasis Restaurant. We ate here a couple of days ago and really enjoyed it. And it was close by.
After lunch, we headed over to Walmart to pick up our prescriptions, and then it was on to Camping World to get some more parts for my new toad tail light setup.
After that, we stopped off for coffee before heading back to the coach.
All in all, an enjoyable day.
Thought for the Day:
Whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back.
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