TORONTO STAR (Ontario) 16 November 06 Load of crocs at St. Augustine alligator farm (Robert Crew) {Excerpt}
"Man, you are sooo ugly!" said the young woman as she and her group of giggly sorority sisters strolled by.
She wasn't talking to me - at least, I don't think she was. What I prefer to believe is that she was addressing a three-metre-long, leathery-skinned gentleman, lying in the sun with his mouth open. The guy didn't even blink; I guess when you've been around since early Jurassic times, you've heard it all.
The leathery gentleman, of course, was a crocodile, one of the 23 species of crocs, alligators, caimans and gharials that are among the oldest animals on earth, having survived the dinosaurs by 65 million years or so.
Founded in 1893, St. Augustine's Alligator Farm is a short drive away from the old city of St. Augustine, across the Bridge of Lions, and is the only zoological park in the world with all 23 crocodile species.
And an exceedingly strange lot they are.
There are ones with heads shaped like shovels and others who look like a reptilian version of needle-nose pliers.
There are even a couple of white ones - rare albino alligators from the bayous of Louisiana. There's a legend that gazing on them brings good fortune.
But the one everyone wants to see is the 35-year-old Maximo, who clocks in at 4.75 metres and 567 kilograms.
Maximo is a saltwater crocodile - the world's largest species - and arrived in Florida from Cairns, Australia, in October of 2003 with his mate, Sydney. Last year, they became the proud parents of 18.
Local resident Barbara Golden and I gaze at Maximo in some awe through an underwater viewing window. There's no sign of Sydney. "I don't know what has happened to her," Golden remarks.
Maximo was a replacement for the gigantic Gomek, whom Golden got to know quite well. "From the age of about 5 to 15, my daughter was fascinated by him. She was mesmerized.
"We live nearby and we had to come and see him almost every day. I had to buy season's tickets."
More than five metres long and weighing in at about 905 kilograms. Gomek was one of the largest crocs ever on display. And he is still around - stuffed and on display alongside a lovely collection of hand-carved Papua New Guinea art.
The park has a reptile theatre where you can hold a python. There's a kids' zone and another area is set aside for giant tortoises. The gift shop, of course, sells crocodilia memorabilia.
You can also wander through the alligator swamp and rookery on a raised boardwalk and spot dozens of birds - herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills and wood storks.
The park presents a number of shows throughout the day, on the hour, every hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The most dramatic is the alligator feeding (at noon and 3 p.m.) when those with strong stomachs can watch them leap for their food and listen to their powerful jaws snapping.
Then you can go out to a local restaurant and eat them - fried crocodile tail is on several local menus.
The meat is pounded flat to tenderize it and then deep-fried. The result is something that tastes like chicken.
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