Each August, a familiar baby boom rolls through the south Louisiana marshes and into the Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery near Covington, a working alligator farm that also operates as a tourist attraction.
Here in the heart of Louisiana, state biologists estimate the wild alligator population has surged to 3 million. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of people in Louisiana at 4,657,757, WVUE reported.
That comparison shows a turnaround for a species that once faced collapse.
From Endangered to a Population Boom
Back in 1967, the American alligator was listed as endangered due largely to unregulated hunting and the loss of habitat.
To repopulate the species, the state of Louisiana launched a management program. Under the current system, alligator farmers collect eggs on private land, incubate them, and hatch them.
The state mandates that these breeders release roughly 5% of their 3- to 5-foot specimens back into nature. At that length, these reptiles possess a superior survival rate for reaching maturity compared to remaining within the marshlands.
Alligator farms hold almost one million alligators, according to state biologists.
“From my point of view, it’s the best conservation story on the planet,” said John Price, who established the Covington facility in 1989. “It’s an amazing story of protection,” he added, inquiring what alternative creature has seen one million individuals returned to their natural habitats.
Visitors Help Hatch Baby Alligators at Covington Ranch
Visitors at the Covington ranch help baby alligators, roughly 6 or so inches long, hatch from their eggs.
“We’ll get a lot of visitors who think Florida is the alligator place, and I think that’s a little bit of a misconception,” said Alex Price, a second-generation alligator rancher. “This is the heart of alligator country.”
Data provided by the Florida Museum indicates that the earliest fossil evidence of crocodilians dates back approximately 83.5 million years.
According to the Florida Museum, alligators have been around for about 150 million years, outliving the dinosaurs with very little anatomical change.
Louisiana Launches Recreational Hunt Alongside Commercial Harvest
This year, Louisiana began a recreational hunt for alligators in addition to the annual commercial harvest.
The agency’s website said: “Louisiana now has a robust alligator resource capable of providing sustainable recreational harvest opportunities to Louisiana residents without negatively impacting a highly valuable commercial industry that provides more than $250 million dollars annually to Louisiana’s economy.”
Aside from the traditional commercial alligator enterprise, this fresh regulatory period establishes a managed hunting opportunity meant specifically for local participants.
