Visiting Florida and want to hold a baby alligator? Fortunately, there’s a number of places that offer this service. Places such as alligator farms, zoos, aquariums and even airboat tour companies offer their customers the chance to hold a baby alligator.
The following is a list of places where you can hold an alligator in Florida:
Alligator & Wildlife Discovery Center:
Address: 12973 Village Blvd. Suites A-J, Madeira Beach, FL
Website: kissagator.com
The Alligator & Wildlife Discovery Center is an exotic pet rescue center in Madeira Beach that features an alligator exhibit.
The center features hands-on exhibits where you can interact with these animals one-on-one. Visitors have the opportunity to hold a small alligator in the center’s alligator room, as well as other animals such as snakes, for a small donation fee.
The Alligator & Wildlife Discover Center is owned by Sonny Flynn.
Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours:
Address: 905 Dupont St, Everglades City, FL
Website: www.captainjacksairboattours.com
Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours is an airboat tour company in Everglades City that also features live alligator shows and an animal sanctuary. The animal sanctuary is home to rescued animals including lions, tigers, otters, crocodiles and over 100 alligators.
Visitors have the opportunity to hold a baby alligator in the animal sanctuary and take a photo with it. An expert alligator handler will be on hand to ensure everyone’s safety.
Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours is owned by Aashish Patel.
Everglades Alligator Farm:
Address: 40351 SW 192nd Ave, Homestead, FL
Website: everglades.com
The Everglades Alligator Farm is an alligator farm in South Florida that features live alligator shows and airboat rides.
The park offers an Alligator Encounter tour, which is a one-hour guided tour where you can hold various sized alligators, sit with one of the show gators, meet some baby alligators and feed over 250 feeding alligators in the breeding pond.
The Everglades Alligator Farm is owned by Deborah and Charles Thibos.
Gator Beach:
Address: 20001 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin, FL
Website: www.gatorbeach.com
Gator Beach is an alligator park located at Fudpucker’s restaurant in Destin, Florida.
The park has over 100 alligators, including a rare albino alligator, and features live gator shows. The park also offers Gator Photos where visitors can hold a small alligator and have their photo taken with it.
Gatorland:
Address: 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, Florida
Website: www.gatorland.com
Gatorland is an alligator park in Orlando, FL that features over 2,000 American alligators, including rare white alligators. The park holds live alligator shows, where you can sometimes pet an alligator after the show.
The park offers a Trainer-For-A-Day program, which is a backstage tour where you can hold a baby alligator and get up close and personal with some of the reptiles and animals from the Up-Close encounters show.
If you would like to visit Gatorland and want to save money on tickets, check out this article on Gatorland discount tickets.
Gatorland was founded by Owen Godwin in 1949.
Gatorworld Parks of Florida:
Address: 492 W HWY 44, Wildwood, FL
Website: www.gatorworldparks.com
Gatorworld Parks of Florida is a drive-thru alligator park in Wildwood, Florida that is home to over 400 alligators.
After completing the drive-thru area of the park, visitors have the opportunity to feed a large alligator from a raised platform and hold and have their photo taken with a small alligator.
Gatorworld was founded by Don Buckner.
Gulf Breeze Zoo:
Address: 5701 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze, FL
Website: www.gbzoo.com
Gulf Breeze Zoo is a zoo in Gulf Breeze that features exotic animals such as giraffes, gorillas, hippos, rhinos and alligators.
The zoo offers an Albino Alligator Encounter, during which visitors can hold one of the zoo’s two small albino alligators, Brutus and Nero, and learn more about their albinism and how the zoo cares for them.
For an additional fee, visitors can also feed a giraffe or hippo, pet a Galapagos tortoise or pet a sloth.
A word of caution about the zoo, the Department of Agriculture filed a complaint in 2015 against Eric Mogensen and his daughter Meghan Mogensen, the owners of the zoo, for violating the Animal Welfare Act at the Gulf Breeze Zoo and two other zoos they own in Virginia.
Meghan Mogensen later plead guilty to an act of animal cruelty that occurred while she was working at the Reston Zoo in Virginia.
Eric Mogensen is the CEO and owner of Gulf Breeze Zoo.
Croc Encounters Reptile Park and Alligator Farm:
Address: 8703 Bowles Rd, Tampa, FL
Website: www.crocencounters.com
The Croc Encounters Reptile Park and Wildlife Center is a family-run reptile and alligator park in Tampa.
The park is home to various types of crocodilians, including American alligators, American crocodiles, Broad-snouted Caiman, Cuban crocodile, Morelet’s crocodile and Nile crocodiles.
The park offers guided tours which includes an up-close look at the alligators, crocodiles and other animals in the park, feeding demos and feeding opportunities and the chance to hold a baby alligator.
Gatorama:
Address: 10665 US-27, Palmdale, FL
Website: www.gatorama.com
Gatorama is an alligator park in Palmdale that has a wide variety of alligators and crocodiles and features live alligator and crocodile feed shows.
The park holds an annual Hatching Festival in the late summer, during which festival ticket holders can hold an alligator egg in their hand while it hatches and then hold the hatchling and take a selfie with it after it emerges.
Gatorama is owned by Allen and Patty Register.
Golf N Gator:
Address: 6355 N Atlantic Ave, Cape Canaveral, FL
Website: golfngator.com
Golf N Gator is a mini golf course in Cape Canaveral that also features an outdoor alligator habitat as well as a gem mine.
The attraction features a man-made alligator swamp that is home to 30 alligators. Visitors can feed the alligators in the swamp and hold a baby alligator.
Golf N Gator is owned by Alison Kabboord.
Peace River Charters:
Address: 4192 SW Adventure Way, Arcadia, FL
Website: peacerivercharters.com
Peace River Charters offers airboat tours, swamp buggy and charter tours on the Peace River in Arcadia.
After enjoying a tour and seeing the local wildlife, guest can stop by the Country Store, which is a gift shop designed to look like a rustic general store, and hold a baby alligator.
Peace River Charters is owned by Zac Varners.
Tom and Jerry’s Airboat Rides:
Address: 68 N Main Terrace, Lake Panasoffkee, FL
Website: peacerivercharters.com
Tom and Jerry’s Airboat Rides offers airboat rides in the swamps of Lake Panasoffkee near Orlando.
After enjoying a tour of the swamp and seeing the local wildlife, such as American alligators, deer, wild hogs and bald eagles, guests can hold a small alligator at the company’s lagoon and have their photo taken with it.
Tom & Jerry’s Airboat Rides are owned by Jerry Sloan.
Wooten’s Animal Sanctuary & Alligator Park:
Address: 32330 Tamiami Trail East, Ochopee, FL
Website: www.wootenseverglades.com
Wooten’s Animal Sanctuary and Alligator Park is an animal sanctuary in.Ochopee The sanctuary is home to various animals, such as tigers, lions, turtles, otters and over 100 American alligators.
The animal sanctuary offers airboat rides as well as live alligator shows. After the alligator show, visitors have the opportunity to hold a small alligator and have their photo taken with it.
Wooten’s Animal Sanctuary is owned by Aashish Patel.
Wild Willy’s Airboat Tours:
Address: 4715 Kissimmee Park Rd, St Cloud, FL
Website: wildwillysairboattours.com
Wild Willy’s Airboat Tours offers airboat tours of the Everglades in St. Cloud.
After enjoying the tour and seeing the local wildlife, such as American alligators, bald eagles, blue herons, visitors can hold and take a photo with a small alligator for free.
The company participates in a trade-in program with a local alligator farm to supply them with small alligators for the photo ops and when the alligators get too big they trade them in for smaller ones.
Wild Willy’s Airboat Tours is owned by Sharon Williams.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm:
Address: 999 Anastasia Blvd. St. Augustine, FL
Website: www.alligatorfarm.com
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a historic zoo in St. Augustine that features both crocodiles and alligators, among other animals.
The park is the only zoo in the world that displays all 23 crocodilian species, including rare albino American alligators.
For an extra fee, visitors have the opportunity to hold either a small alligator or a live snake for a souvenir photo. The price of the photo depends on the size of the print you choose.
The zoo also offers a Rainforest Sloth Encounter during which visitors can pet, feed and interact with sloths.
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is accredited by the Association of Zoos. John Brueggen is the director and general manager of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
If you would like to visit the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and want to save money on tickets, check out this article on St. Augustine Alligator Farm discount tickets.
Sources:
“One-Hour Orlando airboat ride.” Wild Willy’s Airboat Tours, wildwillysairboattours.com/one-hour-airboat-ride/
“Live alligator show.” Wooten’s Animal Sanctuary and Alligator Park, wootenseverglades.com/attractions/live-alligator-shows/
“Our Gators.” Golf N Gators, golfngator.com/our-gators/
“Our Story.” Gatorworld Parks of Florida, gatorworldparks.com/our-story/
“Hug a baby alligator.” Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours, captainjacksairboattours.com/animals/hug-a-baby-alligator/
“Alligator Encounter.” Everglades Alligator Farm, everglades.com/prices-tours/alligator-encounter/
“Picture This!” St. Augustine Alligator Farm, alligatorfarm.com/plan-your-visit/souvenir-photos/
