Gator Park and the Bayou Billionaire

That is a real gator and my daughter trying to kiss it

We went with some friends to the local attraction Gator and Friends. It's an alligator park and petting zoo (yes...you can pet a gator). Before our trip, I took a look at the web site to see what we may be in for. There, they had a list of gator feeding times...and to my surprise, I learned that gators do not eat all year long. Apparently, when the temperature drops, they do not eat. So from fall to about mid April the gators won't chow down. After the gator feeding, you can actually hold a smaller, live gator (with his mouth taped so that you don't lose fingers).

Now I know there are people who disagree with zoos and these types of activities (especially in California), but in Louisiana, things are much different. People do things like go frog gigging (hunting a frog with a stick), then eating the frog legs. And to my surprise (and admittedly horror), some people are actually not fond of the Chimpanzee Haven I spoke about in an earlier post. Recently, Bob Barker (from the Price is Right) donated a large sum of money to the Chimpanzee Haven and people actually berated him for wasting his money on animals. I do not agree with those people...for the record. I think it is a wonderful thing he did. Back to my point...I think zoos and petting zoos are a great learning experience for people (if they are humane). I love taking Olivea to see different animals, touch them, smell them, and learn about what they do and the sounds they make. And this experience is paying off. While we were petting some goats, she began to mimic the sound they make for the first time.

I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the park and how many animals they had. There were so many gators! Big ones, small ones, medium ones...swimming, sun bathing. There is an eerie calmness to alligators that is a little unsettling. And these ones know when it is time for food. They start circling the area where the guy throws the food off a bridge.

This is only a small portion of the gators' home

There were other animals too. Many deer, goats, small cows, llamas, lemurs, kangaroos, an ostrich and an emu, and a baby zebra and baby camel. The baby camel, named Brownie, was my favorite. For $2 they give you a huge cup of feed. The animals are in pins, so you are not bombarded, but you can walk down the dirt path and take your time feeding and petting the animals. For two people and a baby, we spent less than $20 on admission and feed. I thought this was a good deal.

Brownie the baby camel only 3 months old

Petting a deer

When it was time for the alligator feeding, we walked to the bridge to watch. And there they were filming an episode of CMT's show Bayou Billionaire. If you want to know what Northwest Louisiana is like...watch the show. The locals have told me they think the show is embarrassing because not everyone here is a redneck. But from what I have seen....its not that far off. Maybe if I had come from a smaller town, a more rural state...it would not be so strange and foreign to me...but coming from the hustle of So Cal, makes me look around and shake my head sometimes. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a "I want to go home way." But for now, I'm making the best of this adventure. It's a learning experience for sure...eye opening.