August of 92, and I don’t have a college degree. As
a keeper, you deal with lots of animals and you
participate in a lot of guest events; you don’t do just
one thing. Today, you might have an alligator
feeding, a gator talk and a snake show. The next
day, you might find yourself cleaning out pools or
enclosures. On the third day, you might be doing
paperwork. There’s lots of variety.”
Coincidentally, this morning’s task is working with
the veterinarians. After the snakes receive a clean
bill of health, the albino alligator which had had eye
surgery four weeks ago has to have its sutures
examined. “If we ever have a dire emergency, then
we would drive the animal to Gainesville.”
St. Augustine is obviously concentrated on
maintaining its AZA accreditation by providing top-of
-the-line care for its animals. The Farm is renowned
for its work with crocodiles, and even hosts the
annual AZA Crocodilian Care and Biology training
workshops. It is also noted for its conservation
efforts, notably in the husbandry of Species Survival
Plan (SSP) reptiles, mammals and birds. Begun in
1981, for select wildlife parks and approved aquatic
facilities in North America, the SSP program centres
around the breeding of particular species generally
considered threatened, with very distinctive
guidelines on propagation and the feasibility of
re-introduction into the wild. Six of the seven
reptilian SSP species at the Alligator Farm are listed
as Critically Endangered; the exception being the
Malayan or False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii).
“Our primary focus, right this minute, is on the
Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus). Basically, the
Alligator Farm collects funds from various events
and donations to send to India to help with their
conservation efforts,” Jim Darlington explains. The
longest of all extant crocodilians, the gharial is an
orthodontist’s dream, having 110 interlocking and
super-sharp teeth set along a narrow, elongated
‘The breeding program includes
SIX SPECIES which are C RITICALLY
E NDANGERED . Already, C HINESE
A LLIGATORS bred at St. Augustine
have been RELEASED INTO
PROTECTED HABITAT in China.’
snout. Males have a bulbous nodule at the tip,
resembling an earthenware pot, or ‘ghara’ in the
Hindi language, and hence the origin of the
common name.