Biologists say there are nearly as many alligators in Louisiana as people

COVINGTON, La. (WVUE) — Each August, a baby boom comes to the south Louisiana marshes and to Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery near Covington, a working alligator farm that also operates as a tourist attraction.

“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.”

Visitors at the ranch help baby alligators, roughly 6 or so inches long, hatch from their eggs.

“I think people have a fascination with them due to the prehistoric nature,” Price said. “Everybody seems to be interested in dinosaurs in their younger years and this is our dinosaur,” Price said.

In fact, crocodilians first appear in the fossil record about 83.5 million years ago, according to the Florida Museum.

Today, 24 species of crocodilians exist throughout the world, including the modern American alligator.

The species was listed as endangered in 1967 due largely to unregulated hunting and the loss of habitat.

“From my point of view, it’s the best conservation story on the planet,” said John Price, who founded the Insta-Gator ranch in 1989.

The state of Louisiana had launched a management program designed to repopulate the species.

Alligator farmers collect eggs on private land, then incubate and hatch the eggs.

Today, the state requires farmers to return about 5% of their 3- to 5-foot alligators to the wild. At that size, the alligators stand a better chance of reaching adulthood than if they had stayed in the marsh.

Biologists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimate the Louisiana alligator population increased dramatically, from fewer than 100,000 to 3 million in the wild today.

Alligator farms hold almost one million alligators, state biologists estimate.

By comparison, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of people in Louisiana at 4,657,757.

“It’s an amazing story of protection,” said John Price. “What animal has been released to the tune of a million back into the wild environment where they belong?”

This year, Louisiana began a recreational hunt for alligators in addition to the annual commercial harvest.

As a result of conservation efforts, 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.”

This new season creates a controlled recreational harvest opportunity for resident hunters, separate from the existing commercial alligator program.

Here are a few notable facts about alligators from the Florida Museum:

• Ancient lineage: Alligators have been around for about 150 million years, outliving the dinosaurs with very little anatomical change.
• Bite force vs. opening power: An adult American alligator can bite down with a force exceeding 2,000 pounds per square inch, yet the muscles used to open their jaws are so weak they can be held shut with bare hands or taped closed.
• Temperature-dependent sex: The sex of alligator hatchlings is determined by nest temperature during incubation—warmer temperatures (above 93°F/34°C) yield mostly males, while cooler temperatures (below 86°F/30°C) produce females.
• Continuous tooth replacement: An alligator can go through 2,000 to 3,000 teeth in its lifetime, as lost or worn teeth are continuously replaced.

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