Discovering Louisiana Alligator Tour Near New Orleans

By Laura Smith


When in the Crescent City, there are basically three ways to see alligators in Louisiana. In most all cases, individuals will have to shell out some cash when going on a Louisiana alligator tour. For, whether visiting the zoo, taking an airboat or swamp boat tour, all require an admission fee or ticket.

One way to plan one of these tours is in association with other events going on in the city. For, while the tours are exciting, most run an hour and a half to two hours. As such, there is a lot free time left to explore the area once the tour comes to an end.

For most people, seeing an alligator in the wild signals danger. However, despite this feeling, alligators rarely attack unless provoked. At the same time, these reptilian creatures do posses the strongest bite of any animal alive on the earth.

While Louisiana now has a large and abundant alligator population, this was not always the case. In fact, it was not until the early 1960s, when a large drop in population was recognized by the state's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It is believed the drop was due to a number of poachers in the area which were killing the alligators for skin which would then be sold to the fashion industry.

While poaching has slowed down since the 1980s, conservation programs have remained in place to assure the population will only continue to rise. One way conservationists are doing so is by having ranchers incubate eggs found in the wild, then release 14% of the alligators born from those eggs back into the wild. As a result, the population had grown from 300,000 in 1985 to over 3 million in the current population.

Alligators are often known as kings of the everglades due to their size and strength. For, most often these reptilian creatures range in size from eight to fifteen feet and live a span of eighty or more years. In addition, with a bite that is equivalent to a small vehicle crushing down a person, getting too close is not an option. Ironically, at the same time alligators have difficulty picking up their prey due to the shape of their jaws. Instead, most compensate by swallowing anything near an intended meal, whole and with one quick gulp.

Alligators have rather strong acids in the stomach which allow consumption and digestion of metal. In addition, sensors inside the jaw of an alligator allows the creature to detect the slightest movement in the water, allowing them to locate food sources easily and quickly.

The Crescent City area offers several different alligator and swamp tours in different cities. One operator, Cajun Pride Swamp tours in Laplace provides a viewing opportunity in an area where alligators generally stay underwater save for popping up their eyes and snouts. Whereas, Cajun Encounters which departs from Slidell, Louisiana provides an evening sunset tour of the Honey Island Swamp, an area in which sightings of the Honey Island Swap Monster run rampant, either of which can make for an interesting and exciting experience.




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