Lions and tigers and bears, oh my??? No, no! Gators and pythons and crocs, but why? Well, because it was time to create the annual holiday greeting card for friends and clients. Most companies purchase a stock card to send out in bulk. It might display a green border with a large red candy cane on the front. Inside, one finds the company logo and staff names done in Times Roman font by the printer. But why can’t we do that? Because we are Green Light Group Tours, that’s why!
This particular morning in 2011, my boss spent the morning singing the Florida Gator fight song. “Go Gators, get up and go!”, was repeated over and over. My annoyance was soon outdone by the sheer panic that ensued when we pulled up in front of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. It seems this year’s card was to be a photo taken of us all perched upon an alligator.
You know, there are many illogical phobias out there. There is ablutophobia, a “persistent and irrational fear of bathing”. And acousticophobia is an “exaggerated or irrational fear of noise and sounds”. I could go on. But fear of alligators is certainly a logical, and maybe even expected, fear of a creature that is known to rip living beings into chunksHere in Florida, there are even signs on walking paths around waterways that warn not to walk a small dog close to the edge. But I like my job, I like my boss, and really, I like our annual holiday cards. So I sucked it up and climbed aboard the scaly reptile and smiled.
With duty done, we were treated to a tour of the park. Relieved to have left my reptilian co-model back at the set, I found the huge place to be fascinating, enlightening and thoroughly entertaining. The many species of alligators. crocodiles, turtles, and Komodo Dragons enjoyed their native habitats below. Cranes, storks, macaws and vultures soared above. While monkeys, from mouse-sized pygmy marmosets to red-ruffed lemurs, swung the space in between through the trees. There were animal shows, including a 21-foot python snake, and alligator feedings…all in safe surroundings of course. It is worth timing a visit to see the 15-foot, 1250-pound alligator, Maximo, be served his lunch. And in the spring, egrets, herons and wood storks migrate in to nest in the trees of the rookery. Why would they nest above a crocodile pit? Because it means no tree climbing creatures will be living below to get their eggs.
After exploring the park from the boardwalks and paths, we were treated to a tour that was, well, “above” the rest. The farm has constructed two over the park ropes courses with zip lines and obstacles. So we took to the high way, swung with the monkeys and glided with the birds. Yeah, I guess there were multiple triggers abound for many other phobias. Ever heard of acrophobia- fear of heights, agrizoophobia – fear of wild animals or ophidiophobia – fear of snakes? In spite of the fear potential, I recommend a visit to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. Why? Because we are Green Light Group Tours and we know a good tour when we do one. Oh yeah, just one more thing… Also offered is a nocturnal tour on the ropes course. Don’t think those gators below will be hidden in the darkness. Gators’ eyes shine at night on the surface of the swamp. Hmmm, guess I have to add one more to the list, nyctophobia – fear of the dark!