Where Can I Hold a Baby Alligator in Florida?

Nothing is as exciting as coming face to face with a wild animal, and the American alligator is one creature that doesn’t disappoint. Visit the zoo, and you’re sure to see a variety of cool animals, but when you’re ready to roll up your sleeves for an interactive experience with a gator, the Florida Everglades is the place to be. Where can you hold a baby alligator in Florida? The answer is after an Florida shore excursion. Here’s what a day trip to Everglades Holiday Park has to offer adventurous families.

Get Up Close and Personal at Everglades Holiday Park

Seeing animals while speeding across the unique landscape of the Everglades in our comfortable airboats is an incredible experience. However, you’re (hopefully) more than an arm’s length from the wildlife. Wouldn’t you like to get a little more up close and personal? If you’re the type of visitor who wants to really grasp the experience of the Everglades, our exclusive Animal Encounter is for you. It’s available for individuals or groups, and it comes as its own experience, or you can add it on to your airboat tour ticket price!

The encounter happens in a private section of the park where guests enjoy a relaxed setting. This atmosphere is important for the visitors as well as the rescued animals. It’s also how you can have a personal alligator encounter and the full attention of our handlers, who are eagerly waiting to answer any questions you might have.

Hold a Baby Alligator, Snake, Skink, or Lemur, and Have Your Picture Taken

Watching animals from behind a cage can be fun, but the experience is even more exciting when you can actually hold them. At Everglades Holiday Park, you can have your picture taken holding a young alligator, boa, lemur, skunk, and more after your Everglades National Park boat tour! Feel the texture of a real live alligator as you pose for your souvenir photo, and you’ll never look at Florida’s most iconic resident the same again. Don’t worry, there’s nothing dangerous here – the crew and team at Everglades Holiday Park are professionals, and the animals thrive on attention. Kids can’t get enough of the critters at the animal sanctuary. Even the little ones enjoy the gators up close and personal, and boy, do they grin from ear to ear!

Explore the Everglades on an Airboat Tour

Encountering animals in the Everglades is always an adventure, and a one-hour guided tour is the best way to get out there to experience the wetlands. Of course, you can’t hold all of the baby alligators in the Everglades, but you sure can see some extraordinary sights on a narrated tour. Captains at Everglades Holiday Park grew up in the Everglades and know exactly where to take the boats to see the most spectacular sights. In cool weather, wildlife is most active, which is perfect for thrill-seeking families to enjoy watching turtles, snakes, and all kinds of tropical birds going about their business in the Everglades.

Experience Live Alligator Shows With the Gator Boys

After your airboat tour concludes, you’ll be taken back to the park, where you’ll enjoy a complimentary live alligator show featuring the Gator Boys from Animal Planet.

Each alligator show is undeniably thrilling yet perfectly suited for the entire family, ensuring that everyone will have an experience of a once-in-a-lifetime show. Watch from the shaded and raised platform as our expert handlers uncover the unique characteristics of different-sized alligators and alligators of different ages, including some feisty young gators.

These guys and gals know their stuff and delight crowds with entertaining facts, funny jokes, and a few daring tricks. The show gators were rescued from backyards, swimming pools, and other residential areas throughout South Florida, and the Gator Boys are proud to feature some of their favorites. Presentations provide a great way to expose the kids to important concepts like preservation, conservation, and the larger Everglades ecosystem.

Why Choose Everglades Holiday Park?

Why stand around at the zoo when the Everglades puts you face to face with the most exciting wildlife Florida has to offer? When you’re ready to hold a baby alligator, there’s no place like Everglades Holiday Park for exciting airboat rides, alligator presentations, animal encounters, and adrenaline-charged fun with the Gator Boys Alligator Rescue team.

It’s a place that you can stay all day. We have a full-service cafe/deli offering breakfast, daily lunch specials, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and much more! If you’re feeling adventurous, we recommend the local cuisine, featuring frog legs and alligator bites.

If you do not want to spend the time sitting down, you can grab one of many food and beverage choices at the convenience store, as well as bait, beer, sunscreen, and anything else you’re lacking.

We have dedicated ourselves to being a beautiful park meant for the entire family. From our activities to our picnic grounds, your stage of life is irrelevant to having fun with us on an airboat tour or wildlife encounter. We have every convenience available to you so that your experience with us is a pleasant one that lasts a lifetime.

For more information, please visit www.evergladesholidaypark.com to learn how you can make reservations for good old-fashioned fun with the animals of the Everglades!

The Rich Ecosystem of the Everglades

The Biodiversity Hotspot: From Alligators to Birds

The Everglades are a beautiful, thriving, and complex web of life. It’s home to more than 360 species of birds alone and many endangered and threatened species, as well.

The Everglades has a high concentration of alligators. It’s true that during your, you will likely spot an alligator, but there are many other animals you have a high chance of finding, as well. For instance, The Roseate Spoonbill is a wading bird that spends its time in shallow water, so be sure to watch along the shore for interesting creatures. The White-Tailed Deer is most commonly spotted at dawn or dusk, coming out when they feel most comfortable. If you see a Dolphin, keep your eyes peeled for more! Dolphins make life-long friendships, so where you find one, you’re likely to see another.

You’ve likely heard of the growing problem of Burmese Pythons overtaking the Everglades. If you’re a person who stays far from snakes, you don’t have to worry about visiting the park because these pythons hunt at night. During the day, they often lounge around or care for their nests.

The Everglades have unmatched biodiversity. It is crucial to bring education and understanding to the public about how to preserve these stunning lands. That’s why we pride ourselves on our tours and attractions. You can’t come to Everglades Holiday Park without learning something in the most fun way possible. Even seeing the creatures that live within the vibrant green landscapes creates a closer bond with nature that gives a deeper appreciation for what’s being done.

The Vital Role of Wetlands

Wetlands used to be considered a nuisance or a dumping ground, but they are a critical and multifaceted ecosystem that is absolutely necessary for the environment and human society.

Wetlands are a haven for many plant and animal species that are scarcely (or not at all!) found elsewhere because the wet conditions are crucial for survival. The web of life that thrives in the wetlands is a diverse range of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and a staggering number of aquatic organisms

The wetlands impact humans greatly. They act as natural water filters, purifying water with their slow-moving ease and removing pollutants and sediment before passing it through to streams. The water supply in Florida relies heavily on the wetlands as they play a role in replenishing groundwater and maintaining steady water levels in the surrounding areas. One in three Floridians rely on water from the wetlands for clean drinking water.

You might not guess it, but the wetlands are also crucial to flood control and water management. They act as natural sponges, absorbing and storing excess water during periods of heavy rainfall or flooding. They slowly release the water, protecting the lands, rivers, streams, people, and animals from any deluges the rainy season might bring on.

In essence, the significance of wetlands cannot be overstated. They are an intricate ecosystem that contributes to biodiversity and climate regulation and houses many essential habitats, making them vital components of a healthy planet and a sustainable future. We are still learning so much from the wetlands about life there and how we can take more steps to preserve them.

*Safety First: Ensuring a Secure Wildlife Encounter

With every wildlife encounter, the visitor is placed in close contact with animals. It’s important to take proper steps when doing an encounter, but we’re always very cautious. The animals are constantly monitored, well-fed, hydrated, and cared for, and there are always professional handlers nearby.

The handlers go through much training before they’re left to do these encounters with guests, so you can rest assured that they know what they’re doing.

Guests of the park are never left unattended with wildlife.

In the photos on our website, you can see the mouth of the baby alligator has been wrapped. This does not harm the gator because their skin is tough and resilient, but it is a necessary measure to take. It allows the guests to hold the baby gator for their photo without the risk of coming into contact with  pointy teeth.