Australian Reptile Park keepers raid alligator nest for eggs

It is a dangerous job but someone has to do it — keepers raid alligator nest to remove eggs before they hatch.

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The biggest threat to a baby alligator is another alligator.

But the biggest threat to keepers at the Australian Reptile Park is more than 40 alligators and one angry mum guarding her nest.

Keepers undertook the delicate and dangerous job of raiding a nest this morning after one of their female American alligators named “Cleo” laid her eggs yesterday.

A maternal alligator named “Cleo” guards her nest. Picture: supplied

General manager Tim Faulkner said keepers recovered a clutch of 31 eggs during the raid.

“We firstly must get past the aggressive female guarding her nest, she will get agitated by our approach,” he said.

“If we set a foot wrong they will go for us making it a very dangerous procedure.”

The nest raiding process involves keepers wrangling the alligator, restraining her and removing the eggs from the nest.

The mothers are in a high maternal state and keen to guard their eggs, making them very aggressive, which is why keepers show a lot of caution.

Smile if you’re a happy snapper. Keepers keep the mum alligator still while others raid the nest. Picture: supplied

The nest raid comes with the alligators best interests at heart.

Native to swamps and wetlands in the southeast of the US, the alligator’s eggs won’t hatch in Australia’s hot climate with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees.

The eggs removed during the nest raid will be incubated and hatch in about 60 days with their sex determined by the temperature at which they’re incubated.

“Today we had 10 staff, 40 alligators and one angry mum. Fair to say, this is one of our favourite things to do at this time of year,” Mr Faulkner said.

A keeper keeps his eyes firmly on the task at hand. Picture: supplied

In the wild, American alligators guard their eggs until they hatch, then gently dig the hatchlings out, take them in her mouth to the water and protect them while they grow and learn survival skills.

The biggest threat to a baby alligator is another alligator, as the species is cannibalistic, which is another reason why staff remove them from the lagoon filled with 40 adult alligators.

The Australian Reptile Park has the largest population of American alligators in Australia.

They are kept in a large naturalistic lagoon, with alligators living together in a matter that isn’t possible with their more aggressive relatives, the saltwater crocodiles.