A crocodile farm or alligator farm is an establishment for breeding and raising of crocodilians in order to produce crocodile and alligator meat, leather from crocodile and alligator skin, and other goods. Many species of both alligators and crocodiles are farmed internationally. In Louisiana alone, alligator farming is a $60 to $70 million industry. [1] Most crocodile farms are located in Thailand.
Alligators and crocodiles are not truly domesticated and their being bred in farms probably began as late as the early 20th century. Most of the early businesses, such as St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, established in 1893, were farms in name only, primarily keeping alligators and crocodiles as a tourist attraction. [2] Only in the 1960s did commercial operations that either harvested eggs from the wild or bred alligators on-site begin to appear. [3] This was largely driven by diminishing stocks of wild alligators, which had been hunted nearly to extinction by that time.
As the American alligator was placed under official protection in 1967 (under a law preceding the 1973 Endangered Species Act), farming alligators for skins became the most viable option for producing leather. [3] Mostly concentrated in the Southern U.S. states of Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia, the practice quickly spread to other nations. Both the American and Chinese alligator are farmed intensively today, mostly within each species' respective native region. The Nile crocodile is found in ranches all over Africa, and the saltwater crocodile is farmed in Australia and other areas. The smaller caimans are generally not of enough market value to farm, though captive breeding of the spectacled caiman does take place in South America.
Farming alligators and crocodiles first grew out of the demand for skins, [4] which can fetch hundreds of dollars each. But alligator and crocodile meat, long a part of Southern cooking (especially Cajun cuisine) [5] and some Asian and African cuisines, began to be sold and shipped to markets unfamiliar with crocodilian meat. Chinese cuisine based on traditional Chinese medicine considers the meat to be a curative food for colds and cancer prevention, although there is no scientific evidence to support this. [6] Crocodile meat was eaten, albeit rarely and as an exotic dish, in Vietnamese cuisine, but it was taboo and off limits for Chinese. Vietnamese women who married Chinese men adopted the Chinese taboo. [7] In Vietnam, skinning is performed on still living crocodiles. [8]
A common misconception[ among whom? ] is that crocodilians are an easy source of revenue and not difficult to care for in captivity; however, few crocodilian businesses are successful in the developing world. To offset overhead costs and have a regular source of income, crocodilian facilities can add tourism; in this way alligator farming can assist native species and provide people with work. [9]
Alligator farming has minimal adverse effects on the environment, [10] and has at least two positive direct effects on alligator conservation. Because the luxury goods industry has a reliable stream of product, illegal poaching is reduced. Juvenile crocodilians can also be released into the wild to support a steady population. Wild alligator conservation has also benefited indirectly from farming. Ranching businesses protect alligator habitats to take care of nesting sites. The fiscal incentive to keep a healthy environment for breeding alligators means that the environment and its wildlife are seen as an economic resource. This can augment the government's willingness to take care of crocodilian populations.
Animals other than crocodilians may benefit from a similar application of sustainable and ethical farming. [11]
Ranching, wild harvesting, and captive breeding are the three ways to obtain crocodilians recognized by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG). [12] Alligators can be raised in captivity on farms or on ranches. Alligator farms breed alligators, whereas ranches incubate and rear hatchlings collected from the wild. Farms do collect eggs from the wild but they also keep breeding adults in their facilities to produce their own eggs whereas ranches do not. [13] [14] Farming and ranching operations typically return a certain percentage of juveniles to the wild at a size associated with a high survival rate, an approach that increases overall alligator survival rates from the low numbers of successful eggs and juveniles usually observed in the wild. [15]
Crocodiles can be housed in a number of ways depending on the goals of the rearing facility. Large areas of a lake or marsh can be enclosed for many individuals or a smaller area can be created for fewer individuals. Due to the size and lifespan of the animals, adult crocodiles need a substantial amount of space. [9] Tourism can bring additional revenue to crocodile rearing facilities, but they must be made safe for the public and the crocodiles, while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing environment. [16] This frequently depends on enclosures that can be easily cleaned without harming the animals. [9] If closed to public viewing, facilities have fewer requirements and can have a more practical design.
Alligators and crocodiles can be raised in captivity with "open cycle" or "closed cycle" methods. Open cycle refers to programs that are concerned with the health of the wild population and are using captive rearing as a means to supplement the wild populations. [9] [17] [18] Closed-cycle operations are primarily concerned with harvest. In closed cycle operations, adult females are kept in captivity, and the eggs they lay are collected, incubated artificially, hatched, and the juveniles are grown to a certain size and harvested. [18] Closed cycle operations provide no incentive for conservation and are often unsuccessful because the cost of starting and managing the operation often outweighs the profits gained from products. Although the cost of operating an open cycle operation is comparable to closed cycle, the goal of an open cycle operation is the overall health of the species, rather than economic profit. Captive breeding and ranching operations provide more incentive to protect natural populations and are important contributors to the success of crocodilian populations. [9] [16]
Welfare concerns include the threat of crocodilian diseases such as caiman pox, adenoviral Hepatitis, mycoplasmosis, and chlamydiosis. Crocodiles suffer from stress in confined spaces such as farms, leading to disease outbreaks. Most crocodilians keep a body temperature within 28 and 33 degrees Celsius. On farms, body temperatures can reach 36 degrees Celsius, which affects the animals' immune system, and puts them at risk of various illnesses. Another concern is for the cleanliness of the water in enclosures. [19]
Many alligator farms in the United States have experienced property damage from Sus scrofa (feral swine). [20]
Between 2001 and 2003, West Nile virus (WNV) infected and caused deaths resulting in economic loss in American alligators in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Idaho. [21] The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes. [22] WNV has been found in Mexico at a crocodile farm in Ciudad del Carmen. [23]
The skin, most notably the underside, of alligators and crocodiles is of commercial value, so diseases of the skin need to be treated properly and effectively. [24]
Crocodilian diseases vary between species. Salmonellosis is common on some farms, and is acquired from infected food; it may also be spread by poor hygiene practices. Chlamydia, (specifically Chlamydophila psittaci ) can persist for years if not treated, for example with tetracycline. Crocodilians may acquire mycobacteria from infected meat. [25]
Illnesses affecting crocodilians include crocodile pox, which is caused by Parapoxvirus, affecting hatchlings and juveniles. It causes a brown residue to form around the eyes, oral cavity, and tail. Caiman pox similarly causes white lesions around the eyes, oral cavity, and tail. Adenoviral hepatitis causes organ failure and death. Mycoplasmosis causes polyarthritis and pneumonia in crocodilians under the age of three. Infected animals have swollen jaws and are unable to move. Chlamydiosis has two forms that affects juveniles under one year of age. The first causes acute hepatitis, usually resulting in death. The other causes chronic bilateral conjunctivitis, usually resulting in blindness. [26] Parasitic infections include tapeworm cysts, Trichinella spiralis nelsoni in the meat of Nile crocodiles in Zimbabwe, and Coccidia.
There have been reports of crocodiles escaping from farms during flooding. In 2013, approximately 15,000 crocodiles were released into the Limpopo River from flood gates at the nearby Rakwena Crocodile Farm. [27]
A crocodilian farm in Louisiana (in reality, Jamaica) is featured in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die . Tee Hee Johnson, one of the villain's henchman, attempts to feed James Bond to the alligators and crocodiles.
In the second season of The Amazing Race Australia , teams had to visit a Cuban alligator farm and feed a wheelbarrow full of chum to a pen of alligators along with capturing an alligator with a stick and rope in order to receive their next clue.
Source: [28]
The family Alligatoridae of crocodylians includes alligators, caimans and their extinct relatives.
Crocodiles or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans, the gharial and false gharial among other extinct taxa.
Crocodilia is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles known as crocodilians. They first appeared 94 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. Members of the order's total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order Crocodilia includes the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans, and the gharial and false gharial. Although the term crocodiles is sometimes used to refer to all of these, crocodilians is a less ambiguous vernacular term for members of this group.
An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators first appeared during the Oligocene epoch about 37 million years ago.
The American alligator, sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the genus Alligator, and is larger than the only other living alligator species, the Chinese alligator.
The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology (MCBT) is a reptile zoo and herpetology research station, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the city of Chennai, in state of Tamil Nadu, India. The centre is both a registered trust and a recognized zoo under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and comes under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. It was established with the aim of saving three Indian endangered species of crocodile—the marsh or mugger crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, and the gharial, which at the time of founding of the trust were all nearing extinction.
The black caiman is a crocodilian reptile endemic to South America. With a maximum length of around 5 to 6 m and a mass of over 450 kg (1,000 lb), it is the largest living species of the family Alligatoridae, and the third-largest in the Neotropical realm. True to its common and scientific names, the black caiman has a dark greenish-black coloration as an adult. In some individuals, the pigmentation can appear almost jet-black. It has grey to brown banding on the lower jaw; juveniles have a more vibrant coloration compared to adults, with prominent white-pale yellow banding on the flanks that remains present well into adulthood. The banding on young animals helps with camouflage by breaking up their body outline, on land or in water, in an effort to avoid predation. The morphology is quite different from other caimans but the bony ridge that occurs in other caimans is present. The head is large and heavy, an advantage in catching larger prey. Like all crocodilians, caimans are long, squat creatures, with big jaws, long tails and short legs. They have thick, scaled skin, and their eyes and noses are located on the tops of their heads. This enables them to see and breathe while the rest of their bodies are underwater.
The Chinese alligator, also known as the Yangtze alligator, China alligator, or historically the muddy dragon, is a crocodilian endemic to China. It and the American alligator are the only living species in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. Dark gray or black in color with a fully armored body, the Chinese alligator grows to 1.5–2.1 metres (5–7 ft) in length and weighs 36–45 kilograms (80–100 lb) as an adult. It brumates in burrows in winter and is nocturnal in summer. Mating occurs in early summer, with females most commonly producing 20–30 eggs, which are smaller than those of any other crocodilian. The species is an opportunistic feeder, primarily eating fish and invertebrates. A vocal species, adults bellow during the mating season and young vocalize to communicate with their parents and other juveniles. Captive specimens have reached age 70, and wild specimens can live past 50.
The Nile crocodile is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and central regions of the continent, and lives in different types of aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, swamps, and marshlands. Although capable of living in saline environments, this species is rarely found in saltwater, but occasionally inhabits deltas and brackish lakes. The range of this species once stretched northward throughout the Nile River, as far north as the Nile Delta. Generally, the adult male Nile crocodile is between 3.5 and 5 m in length and weighs 225 to 750 kg. However, specimens exceeding 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) in weight have been recorded. It is the largest freshwater predator in Africa, and may be considered the second-largest extant reptile in the world, after the saltwater crocodile. Size is sexually dimorphic, with females usually about 30% smaller than males. The crocodile has thick, scaly, heavily armoured skin.
The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts of Mexico to as far south as Peru and Venezuela.
The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and already extirpated from many regions. Its other common names include Siamese freshwater crocodile, Singapore small-grain, and soft-belly.
The Orinoco crocodile is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, and they can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to 6.8 m in the past, weighing over 900 kg (2,000 lb), but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m being a more widely accepted maximum size. A large male today may attain 4.2 m in length and can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb), while females are substantially smaller with the largest likely to weigh around 225 kg (496 lb). Sexual dimorphism is not as profound as in other crocodilian species. The coloration is light even in adults.
Cuvier's dwarf caiman is a small crocodilian in the alligator family from northern and central South America. It is found in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela. It lives in riverine forests, flooded forests near lakes, and near fast-flowing rivers and streams. It can traverse dry land to reach temporary pools and tolerates colder water than other species of caimans. Other common names for this species include the musky caiman, the dwarf caiman, Cuvier's caiman, and the smooth-fronted caiman. It is sometimes kept in captivity as a pet and may be referred to as the wedge-head caiman by the pet trade community.
The smooth-fronted caiman, also known as Schneider's dwarf caiman or Schneider's smooth-fronted caiman, is a crocodilian from South America, where it is native to the Amazon and Orinoco Basins. It is the second-smallest species of the family Alligatoridae, the smallest being Cuvier's dwarf caiman, also from tropical South America and in the same genus. An adult typically grows to around 1.2 to 1.6 m in length and weighs between 9 and 20 kg. Exceptionally large males can reach as much as 2.3 m (7.5 ft) in length and 36 kg (79 lb) in weight.
The dwarf crocodile, also known as the African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile or bony crocodile, is an African crocodile that is also the smallest extant (living) species of crocodile.
The spectacled caiman, also known as the white caiman, common caiman, and speckled caiman, is a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. It is brownish-, greenish-, or yellowish-gray colored and has a spectacle-like ridge between its eyes, which is where its common name come from. It grows to a length of 1.4–2.5 m and a weight of 7–40 kg (15–88 lb), with males being both longer and heavier than females. Its diet varies seasonally, commonly consisting of crabs, fish, small mammals, amphibians and snails. Breeding occurs from May to August and 14–40 eggs are laid in July and August. This crocodilian has a large range and population; it is native to much of Latin America, and has been introduced to the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
The northern caiman lizard is a species of lizard found in northern South America.
The Cuban crocodile is a small-medium species of crocodile endemic to Cuba. Typical length is 2.1–2.3 m (6.9–7.5 ft) and typical weight 70–80 kg (150–180 lb). Large males can reach as much as 3.5 m (11 ft) in length and weigh more than 215 kg (474 lb). Despite its smaller size, it is a highly aggressive animal, and potentially dangerous to humans.
The Crocodile Zoo is a zoo on the Danish island of Falster. It is located northeast of Eskilstrup, towards the northern centre of the island. Established in 2000, the zoo has the world's largest collection of crocodilians with almost all existing species. Their male Nile crocodile Sobek, at more than 5 m (16.5 ft) long and 600 kg (1,300 lb) in weight, is the largest crocodilian in Europe, and Medusa, a 6.3 m (20.5 ft) reticulated python, is among the largest snakes in Europe. Although primarily focussed on crocodilians, the zoo is also home to cougar (puma), clouded leopard, tayra, callitrichid monkeys, parrots and giant tortoises.
Crocodile skin either refers to the skin of a live crocodile or a leather made from dead crocodile hide. It has multiple applications across the fashion industry such as use for bags, shoes, and upholstery after being farmed and treated in specialist farms and tanneries.
