Keepers at the Australian Reptile Park undertook a highly dangerous alligator nest raid in the alligator lagoon on December 27.
The lagoon is home to 55 adult alligators and the process is considered to be extremely dangerous.
Matilda, the female alligator, laid her eggs on Boxing Day with staff unveiling a clutch of 40 eggs the following day.
Operations Manager Billy Collett said there was nothing to get the heart racing like Alligator nest raiding.
“We do this every year and all of the keepers love getting muddy and helping save the baby alligators from what could be a potentially dangerous situation with Australia’s heat, and larger cannibalistic adult alligators,” he said.
The nest raiding process involves keepers wrangling the alligator, restraining her and removing the eggs from the nest.
The mothers are in a high maternal state and keen to guard their eggs, making them very aggressive.
The nest raid comes with the alligators’ best interests at heart.
Native to swamps and wetlands in the south-east of the USA, alligator eggs won’t hatch in Australia’s hot climate with temperatures potentially topping 40° Celsius
The eggs removed during the nest raid will be artificially incubated and hatch in about 70 days with their sex determined by the temperature at which they are incubated.
“One slight step out of place can cost you, so we are very careful to follow a well-thought-out plan and ensure the protective mother is well restrained and doing okay herself,” Collett said.
“Once we let her go, we also monitor her for the rest of the day.
“With the amount of females sitting on nests, it looks like it will be a busy summer for the reptile team.”
In the wild, American alligators guard their eggs until they hatch, then gently dig the hatchlings out, take them in their mouth to the water and protect them while they grow and learn survival skills.
The biggest threat to a baby alligator is another alligator, as the species is cannibalistic – which is another reason why staff remove them from the lagoon.
The Australian Reptile Park has the largest population of American alligators living in Australia and visitors can catch them being fed during the summer school holidays at 12.30pm daily.
Thrill-seeking guests who want to get close to the action can book an Alligator Feeding encounter.
More information at https://www.reptilepark.com.au/experiences/animal-encounters/.
Source:
Media release, Dec 28
Australian Reptile Park