The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoo Night is a private event for people who want to explore the zoo at night. Zoo Night takes place between 6pm and 9pm, although the times vary with the seasons.
The event includes a night-time zoo tour, a hands-on animal presentation, drinks, two slices of pizza per person and nocturnal crafts and games.
Visiting the zoo at night is not only a great way to avoid the crowds and have the zoo all to yourself but is also a great way to observe the animal’s nocturnal behavior as well.
If you are worried the animals won’t be active at night and you won’t have much to see, don’t be. Although some of the animals at the zoo, such as the monkeys, reptiles, birds, turtles and tortoises, are only active during the day, many of the most exciting animals housed at the zoo are actually nocturnal, including the following:
- American alligator
- American crocodile
- African slender-snouted crocodile
- Black caiman
- Broad-nosed caiman
- Chinese alligator
- Cuban crocodile
- Dwarf crocodile
- Dwarf caiman
- False gavial
- Johnson’s crocodile
- Morelet’s crocodile
- Mugger crocodile
- New Guinea crocodile
- Nile crocodile
- Orinoco crocodile
- Saltwater crocodile
- Siamese crocodile
- Smooth-fronted caiman
- Spectacled caiman
- Two-toed sloths
- Perth pygmy python
- Green tree python
- D’Albert’s python
- Blotched python
- Blood python
- Black-headed python
- Carpet/diamond python
- Rainbow boa
- Island boa
- Cuban boa
- Boa constrictor
- Pygmy rattlesnake
- Mangrove snake
- Cottonmouth snake (primarily nocturnal)
- Copperhead snake (nocturnal during the summer)
- Common kingsnake
- Gila Monster (nocturnal in summer)
- Komodo Dragons (exhibit some nocturnal behavior)
- Gopher frog
- Giant gecko
- Knobtail gecko
- Tokay gecko
- Southern toad
- Southeast Asian box turtle
- Screech owls
- European rabbit
- Four-toed hedgehog
- Long-tailed chinchilla
- Prehensile-tailed porcupine
- Nine-banded armadillo
- Screaming Hairy Armadillo (nocturnal in summer)
As you can see, there will be plenty of animal activity to observe and you will have a chance to see these nocturnal animals at their most active, which is not even possible when the zoo is open during business hours.
The cost of the event is pretty reasonable considering it gives you private access, after hours, to a popular attraction. If you have fewer than 20 people in your group, it costs only a few hundred dollars to book the event in addition to a small fee for each person in the group.
If you have a group larger than 20 people, the price of booking the event nearly doubles but the price per person remains the same.
The event isn’t the only night time event held at the zoo either. In October of each year, the zoo also hosts a Halloween Trick-or-Treating event for kids ages 2 to 11 and a Croctoberfest the first weekend in October for adults ages 21 and older.
If you want to visit the St. Augustine Alligator Farm during the day and would like to save money on tickets, check out this article on St. Augustine Alligator Farm discount tickets.
Sources:
Korfhage, Stuart. “Sloths Move In.” St. Augustine Record, 16 Aug. 2019, staugustine.com/story/news/local/2019/08/16/sloths-move-in-at-st-augustine-alligator-farm/4447646007/
“Animals Need the Dark.” NPS.gov, National Park Service, nps.gov/articles/nocturnal_earthnight.htm
“Nocturnal Animals in Florida.” Wildlife Informer, wildlifeinformer.com/nocturnal-animals-in-florida/
“What do nocturnal animals do at night?” Zoo Atlanta, zooatlanta.org/what-do-nocturnal-animals-do-at-night/
“Are Alligators Nocturnal?” Untamed Animals, 11 March. 2022, untamedanimals.com/are-alligators-nocturnal-can-they-see-in-the-dark/
“Zoo Night.” St. Augustine Alligator Farm, alligatorfarm.com/zoo-night/
