ORLANDO, Fla. – There is some big news happening at the “Alligator Capital of the World.”
Gatorland is celebrating the arrival of the first new American Alligator hatchlings of the season.
“We are head over heels in love with our new baby alligators,” said Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland. “It is nothing less than amazing to see them hatch, breaking out of their shells with their little egg tooth and sticking their snouts out. We watch them and help them as they work hard to break through the leathery inner shell and then the harder outer shell. Sometimes they have to rest and take a break.”
The theme park said dozens of American Alligators hatch each year.
American Alligators at Gatorland mate naturally from April through June and lay their eggs in nests under brush and bushy areas beside lakes in the park.
They typically lay between 35 to 40 eggs, which take 60 to 65 days to hatch.
Park officials first reported the new alligator hatchlings on Friday, with more hatching early Monday morning.
Gatorland said about six weeks after they are born, they will be transported to Gatorland’s Baby Gator Swamp where they will live with other baby gators and turtles.
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