ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Alligators are a fact of Florida life, and they’ve been here a lot longer than we have.
American alligators appeared about 84 million years ago, and their ancestors evolved more than 200 million years ago. Though alligators, along with other crocodilians, have undergone very little evolutionary change since the time of the dinosaurs.
The name alligator originated from the Spanish el lagarto, meaning “the lizard.”
If you want to have a genuinely “Florida” encounter with a swarm of alligators, or should I say a safe encounter, you can do just that at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
It’s a place where you can step into the wild.
That’s exactly what I did with special projects producer Ciara Earrey when we paid a visit for our 4 Your Neighborhood spotlight of St. Augustine.
Actually, I stepped into the alligator pit with Jim Darlington, the zoological park’s resident alligator curator, and learned all sorts of interesting things.
Among the other fascinating things about alligators is that they have an amazing lineage, can leap straight up in the air, and they chomp rather than chew their food.
If they bellow at you, they are telling you that you are on their turf. So pay attention!
And believe it or not, they can remember you for years.
Watch the video above to find out other things you might not have known about alligators and check out Bruce’s fun conversation with Jim.
And you can learn more about the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park at https://www.alligatorfarm.com/.