Alligators and swamp buggies: How a roadside attraction in Orlando staved off extinction
ORLANDO, Fla. – On a scorching summer afternoon, Michael Hoffman tightened his son’s grip on a makeshift fishing pole suspended over dozens of chomping alligators.
“Woah, hold on buddy,” Hoffman, an antique dealer, told his delighted 4-year-old as a baby alligator clamped down on the string.
It was the first time Hoffman shared with his son a tradition his father started with him decades earlier on their annual trips from Maryland to the Florida Keys: a one-day stop at Gatorland.
“We love coming here,” said Hoffman as his wife, Cheryl, helped their 10-year-old daughter drop chucks of fish to the reptiles. “Where else can you feed a gator, get this close and not be arrested?”
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