alafarmnews

Shawn Branson, an employee at Alligator Alley in Summerdale, entertained and educated visitors while feeding some of the alligators.

Farm Family Turns
Spring-Fed Swamp into
Thriving Tourist Attraction

By Kellie Henderson

Little more than a stone’s throw from the bustling beach traffic traveling Highway 59 in Summerdale lies a 20-acre cypress swamp that nearly 200 alligators call home. Alligator Alley owner Wesley Moore couldn’t be happier with that arrangement.

"Mark Twain said a man who finds a job he loves doesn’t work a day in his life, and I feel like I’m just about there," said Moore.

The farm land that has been in Moore’s family for more than 70 years always had a spring-fed swamp they utilized as a water source, but Moore saw an opportunity to take that natural gator habitat further.

"My grandfather had used the swamp for irrigation, but other than that, it was just something we had to bushhog around. In this part of the world, every sizeable wetland you come across likely has a gator in it, and we see so many farms that have lost their ability to make a profit. I wanted to take this family farm and keep it as agrarian as I could without going the way of the dodo," he said.

"With the commotion of construction, most of the gators left, so our gator population is predominantly made up of what’s known as nuisance animals," which Moore describes as alligators having lost their natural fear of humans, becoming a danger to themselves and people.

"When an alligator isn’t afraid of people, it has to be killed or moved to a captive environment where they can’t pose a threat any longer. We have a unique facility because we’re able to save the gators’ lives and offer them a large, natural habitat where they can live out their lives happily and educate people," said Moore.

A natural outgrowth of this alligator-friendly habitat is the alligator farm Moore and his employees operate.

"We have adult alligators in a natural setting, so they’re going to breed," he said, adding that operating an alligator farm in Alabama is a difficult and costly endeavor.

"It’s one of the most expensive licenses you can get in this state, and people outside Alabama who thought they wanted alligator farming operations have lost a lot of money in recent years. They bought these young gators and fed them for a few years hoping to make a large profit, but the low economy has hurt the market for alligator products, and these grown alligators are worth less now than what people paid for them," Moore explained.

Wesley Moore, owner of Alligator Alley, said raising gators came second to his desire to educate people about them.

Allison Lloyd of Jasper, Tennessee, got to ‘ride’ one of the gators at Alligator Alley in Summerdale.

"Where chicken eggs are rotated in incubation, gator eggs can’t be moved. Each individual clutch of eggs is incubated in its own tub, and our tubs are shelved in a building that’s basically a one-room incubator. We have a large vat of water there to keep the humidity as close to a hundred percent as possible, and the temperature has to stay above 81 degrees. That’s not a problem unless we have a very overcast day, but we try to keep the building at about 86 degrees," said Moore. He added that many of his hatched gators go to state parks and other educational facilities as raising gators comes second to his desire for educating people about them.

"I love these amazing creatures, and I want to do anything I can to help people learn more about them," he said.

Visitors to Alligator Alley have the opportunity to see everything from yearling gators up to the hefty Captain Crunch. With an immense weight of more than 800 pounds, Captain Crunch holds the world record for bite strength. His steely jaws can create a bone-crushing 2,892 pounds of pressure, and he measures over 13 feet in length. But Moore assures Alligator Alley visitors they can feel safe throughout the property.

According to Moore, the annual number of visitors to Alligator Alley continues to grow, and he hopes the trend will continue. His plans include future expansion of the business to include non-indigenous wildlife.

"I’ve got a pretty good idea of where I’d like Alligator Alley to be in ten, fifteen and twenty years, and we’re making great progress toward those goals. Some of my plans include adding crocodiles and exotic snakes to the site. A lot of people who can’t afford to see the world can afford a trip to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, so I’d like to bring a little more of the world’s wildlife to them," Moore said, adding alligators will always be his favorite.

Moore said Elizabeth, his wife of seven years, isn’t much of a gator person, but he said their two-year-old daughter Libby is showing signs of following in her Daddy’s footsteps.

Some of the yearling alligators that call Alligator Alley home.

"I like to take her outside with me, and she enjoys it. Too many kids today are raised like hot-house plants, never breathing fresh air or playing in the sunshine. I want Libby to appreciate that every bite of food a person eats comes from his yard or someone else’s. But I don’t take her in the fence with me when she comes to see the gators. She tells them ‘No, no alligator,’ if she sees them near the gate," Moore said.

One of the alligators at Alligator Alley greeted visitors with a great big smile.

Outside the Alligator Alley property, Moore leases some of the farm’s additional acreage to other farmers, and he maintains longhorn cattle and registered Yorkshire swine of his own. An avid bird hunter, Moore also manages two 7-acre fields for his personal hunting.

"We try to utilize everything here we can," he said.

Moore has two full-time employees and additional seasonal workers for Alligator Alley.

"There’s not much going on with alligators in the winter," said Moore.

As people flock to Alabama’s sugar-sand beaches during the summer, many of them are making a stop at Alligator Alley part of their vacation plans. 15-year-olds Allison Lloyd and Payton Gravitt of Jasper, Tennessee, said they’re glad they came as part of their family vacation.

"We just saw the signs and thought it would be fun. We’re spending a whole week here, so we were looking for something to do besides spending another afternoon on the beach," said Allison.

The two girls said they just saw the signs and wanted to check it out, but they had no idea how close they would be able to get to one particular gator.

"After we watched the gators at feeding time, the guide told us he had a gator we could touch; but I actually rode it, and I have the video to prove it!" Payton said.

With the gator’s mouth taped securely closed, Allison was still a little nervous about her wildlife encounter.

"I just sat on it, though. I screamed because I was scared. I didn’t want it to take off with me on its back," said Allison.

A small but very realistic toy alligator in a sandbox also brought squeals of delight from smaller children, and the small cups of gator food available in the gift shop ensure every visitor gets to brag about feeding the gators.

"Alligator Alley is a place where families can feel safe, have a good time and learn a lot," said Moore.

For more information on Alligator Alley, including directions to the facility and feeding schedules, visit their website at
www.gatoralleyfarm.com.

Kellie Henderson is a freelance writer from Troy.