June/July 2004
Brought to you by your friends at Alligator Bayou




Here we are - Dezins has gotten us to a second newsletter!! We're thrilled with the great response we got from the first newsletter, and we're excited about all the works in progress. The turtle exhibit has really blossomed. We're getting new "drop offs" now - a new 40# alligator snapper, numerous cooters, snakes and fish. Some of our neighbors have also brought us some bullfrogs. Now we're hoping for some baby snakes and turtles.

4th grade students from East Feliciana Parish
The educational tours this year were great!! We saw over 5500 kids here between March and June from schools from as close as Oak Grove and as far away as New York! We have more fun showing students the beauty and importance of the swamp and its inhabitants. We've seen the baby gators in the swamp from last September, the big boy who is currently breeding with the females in Alligator Bayou, the bald eagle actually snatching a fish from the water, and a 7' long rat snake in a tree in Cypress Flats!! The kids have really been a true blessing for us - we have been able to be kids ourselves! The little ones have the most unique perspective, and their questions and answers always surprise and often amuse us as we teach them. It is so fulfilling to watch a child develop a new idea and recognize a complex concept, and know that they will be the next leaders we need!

Speaking of young ones, the gators have been talking up a storm. We spend many of our evenings just sitting and listening as Hannibal and the girls bellow and rumble to each other. We've got our fingers crossed that we'll get some viable eggs this season! Babies would be such a great development! We'll keep everyone posted as watch the nests over the next month or two.

The May rains did bring quite a bit of water here, but it did not flood! The swamp needed the water and the cleansing. The only problem now is trying to get the locks cleaned out where all the duck weed, salvinia and logs have piled up - Ascension Parish has taken the stance (again) that it is not their responsibility. We're hoping that right reason will prevail. In our opinion, the flow through the locks is certainly reduced by the debris.

Later, gator!!
Jim & Frank
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