HOME Travel Guide Common Sense Travel
decorative font style
    Travel >> Holiday Travel >  >> Hotel & Food

Discovering Alligator Eggs: A Hands-On Airboat Adventure in Louisiana Marshes

Discovering Alligator Eggs: A Hands-On Airboat Adventure in Louisiana Marshes

Ben Welch proudly displays a clutch of alligator eggs. Photo by Deb Thompson.

Discovering Alligator Eggs: A Hands-On Airboat Adventure in Louisiana Marshes

Holding a baby alligator was both thrilling and nerve-wracking! Photo by Deb Thompson.

During a recent marshland tour with Airboats and Alligators, I had the exhilarating chance to hold my first baby alligator.

Aboard the airboat, owner Ben Welch, a local expert, explained the key differences between man-made canals used by the pipeline industry and natural bayous winding through the coastal marshes.

With the wind whipping our faces, we headed to Ben's backyard alligator pond, where we viewed a clutch of eggs set to hatch in late August.

I learned that Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, Louisiana, played a pivotal role in saving the American alligator from extinction. To boost survival rates, farmers collect eggs for incubators and line them with the same natural vegetation from the nest to maintain ideal moisture levels.

Fascinatingly, nest temperature determines the offspring's sex: 86°F or lower yields females, while 93°F or higher produces males.

For more on airboat rides along the Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, click here.

Hotel & Food
  • Soba Noodles: Traditional Buckwheat Delight

    Soba (����) noodles are noodles made of buckwheat flour, roughly as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot and cold dishes. Soba dishes are very popular and easily available nationwide. As 100% buckwheat soba noodles tend to be brittle, many restaurants add some wheat flour when preparing their noodles. Depending on the shop, the percentage of buckwheat flour in soba noodles typically ranges between 40% and 100%. Note also that there are a few noodle dishes named soba (e.g.

  • Authentic Yakitori: Japan s Charcoal‑Grilled Chicken Skewers

    Yakitori (����) are grilled chicken skewers made from bite sized pieces of meat from all different parts of the chicken, such as the breasts, thighs, skin, liver and other innards. Usually made to order and cooked over charcoal, yakitori is a popular, inexpensive dish commonly enjoyed together with a glass of beer. The best yakitori is served at specialty restaurants, known as yakitori-ya, but it can also be found at many other types of restaurants across Japan, such as izakaya, and at fe

  • Okonomiyaki: Japan s Customizable Pan-Fried Cabbage Delight

    Okonomiyaki (���D�ݏĂ�) is a popular pan-fried dish that consists of batter and cabbage. Selected toppings and ingredients are added which can vary greatly (anything from meat and seafood to wasabi and cheese). This variability is reflected in the dishs name; okonomi literally means to ones liking. The dish is available all over Japan, but is particularly popular in the cities of Hiroshima and Osaka.Okonomiyaki is sometimes translated into English as As-you-like-it Pancake. However, this ma