gatorzzz

We drove south of New Orleans to the bayou today to go into the wilds in an airboat. Airboats don't have propellers like jet-boats or motorboats. They have a huge fan on the back that propels the boat along using air instead of churning up the swamp life in the water.


The skies were dark but the forecast had only called for a 30% chance of rain, so off we went. We were the only people going out, and we happened to have two pilot/tour guides. Dave was off-duty and was just going along with Ray for the fun of it. They were nice guys - they looked and sounded like rednecks, but were friendly, funny, and knowledgeable about the bayou and the living creatures that called it home.


In addition to witnessing the eerie beauty of the bayou, we saw Great Blue Herons, snakes, lizards, bass, squirrels, and turtles. Most of all though, we saw alligators. Lots of them! As I sat in the tiny high-speed boat without a life-jacket on in the middle of the wilderness, I wondered what would happen if I fell into the water. For the most part the vegetation was so thick that the surface of the water hardly visible, let alone the bottom. I had no idea how deep the water was and what living things were in it at any given moment.


As we traversed the bayou we came across alligators of all sizes. Once, when we saw three big guys, Ray got mad at Dave for throwing out his marshmallows back at the dock, as he wanted to feed them to the alligators. We fed them fish instead.

We saw the marsh lands where female alligators make their nests, and heard about the species' incredibly quick recovery from being endangered in the late 60's to being stable again in the early 70's, thanks in part to alligator farms and breeding efforts that are still in place today.

As we floated down a particularly narrow and shallow channel, the dark skies finally decided to let loose. Ray and Dave dove for cover under tarps and seat-covers, and pulled a tarp over us as well.


As we huddled under the tarp (getting soaked to the skin anyway), we saw that we were not alone. A big female alligator was staring at the boat from a few feet away. How did we know she was female? Because there was a big herd of itty, bitty, oh-so-cute baby alligators in the water with her. Ray threw some fish to her and she ate it:


I wish I could show you pictures of the masses of little baby alligators, but a picture of this bigger one will have to do:


Touring the bayou was amazing. I've been thinking about the ethics of the whole thing, but anyone who wants to pursue that should email me.


Also, by request, a picture of a turtle taken out on the dock at the bayou: