Christopher Gillette

“But he knows you” as if that means he wouldn’t still bite 😂. Yes, he knows me well, I’ve worked with him 17 years, he knows I’m not a threat so he doesn’t have to be defensive, and he knows my training and that he gets treats, BUT that doesn’t make it “safe” or get rid of his predatory instincts. I’ve explained many times, they’re alligators, not Labradors, they are NEVER pets and should never be thought of as anything close to one. They’re trained, not tame. Alligator brains are wired completely different from any mammal, never expect a gator to act like like any mammal. My best example of this is at one park I worked at there was male and female together, mated up and everything, together since the 90s. Male much larger and could easily kill her if he wanted to of course, never harmed her. Then one day while I was there she had a seizure, and the moment she flipped over he was eating her, like within seconds. That experience was really disturbing and erased all my Disney fairy tale notions 😂. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Strike zone and understanding alligator range of motion and triggers! These topics are key in what I do and how I interact with gators!! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Can gator regrow tails? Or limbs? Nope! If it’s gone, it’s gone, they’re unable to regrow their tails or limbs of lost. Although people often think of them as water lizards and therefore able to regrow tails, they cannot and are in fact close to a bird than a lizard! 🤯 ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Appreciation post, I feel so fortunate that I get to spend time with such incredible animals!! And that I have managed to make a living while living out my dreams and passion of working with animals and animal conservation!! I still take moments all the time and just think “wow, this is really my life!”😃. And the best is yet to come!! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Casper’s ear! And you can see the moment he realizes I don’t have food and is like nahhh I’m going this way 😂😂😂. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 Thanks to George for helping me film! #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Well this peaceful tortoise video didn’t go as planned! Gabby and I were trying to take educational videos about tortoise care and compare our 3 sulcata tortoise sizes and body conditions, but Jumanji woke up and chose violence!! This is why he is alone, these tortoises can be highly territorial and at his size he would crush and kill the smaller tortoises. Even with a female we fear he would crush her trying to mate, but eventually hope to get a large enough female to go with him (For companionship, we’re not breeding them and any eggs would be recycled as food for the other animals). As you can see, we do not advocate this species of tortoise as a pet! #sulcata #sulcatatortoise #tortoise #animaleducation #Rescue #AnimalRescue #AnimalSanctuary #ExoticAnimals #Animals #Animals #reptile #CuteAnimals #educational

Giant tortoise ASMR. This is Jumanji, our sulcata tortoise. Sulcata tortoises, also known as African spurred tortoises, are the third-largest species of tortoise in the world. They are native to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in Africa. Sulcata tortoises have a distinctive appearance with a large, domed shell and thick, column-like legs. These tortoises are herbivores, feeding primarily on grasses and plants. Theyre known for their longevity, with some individuals living up to 70 years or more. Jumanji is only 19yrs old. They are sadly popular pets due to their docile nature, but they require large outdoor enclosures and specialized care, most captive animals do not receive this and often have stunted growth and malformed shell development. Jumanji here was surrendered to the rescue by an elderly woman who took great care of him. Despite their size, sulcata tortoises are surprisingly fast runners, capable of reaching speeds up to 0.3 miles per hour. #sulcata #sulcatatortoise #tortoise #reptiles #rescue

Dinosaur roars. Casper is actually not roaring, but bellowing, a form of alligator communication that most people perceive as threatening but in actuality is him looking for love!! Alligators bellow to convey health and size information to surrounding gators for breeding, social, and territorial reasons. They bellow year round but with much more frequency in the breeding season. The sound emitted directly correlates to the gator’s size, providing an accurate size estimate to whoever is listening(and knows what to listen for!)When male alligators bellow, the powerful low frequency sound waves actually cause the water over their backs to bounce up, creating a “water dance” as you can see in these photos. Female bellows do not have this affect. And speaking of dinosaur roars, the roaring of the T. rex in Jurassic Park is a conglomeration of animal sounds, part of which includes gator bellowing! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Spalshin’ and snappin’! Casper reacting to splashes at the surface. When he is underwater he often puts his nictitating membrane up, which limits his vision, and he reacts much more to movement and sound. He will snap at anything that moves underwater like this, making him much more dangerous when submerged. Most his snaps are really sweeps, slower moving and feeling for something, but sometimes he will be quick! Experimenting like this helps us understand his behavior and what triggers snaps, and we always have fun too 😂. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Camera work@by @george_da_nature_dude_ Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Casper being a messy eater! And some quick hands! With those big long jaws it can be difficult for gators to pick up small objects like this, but they have surprisingly amazing dexterity in throwing food around in the mouth and using the tongue to pick out what they actually want. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Gator teeth, nictitating membrane, and integumentary sensory organs! Some very cool alligator adaptations! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

We talk a lot about gators being able to regrow their teeth and cycling through several thousand in a lifetime, but they can also lose this ability if the root of the tooth is damaged! This happens somewhat often with individual teeth, but occasionally it’ll happen to ALL the teeth at once caused by some other mechanism that’s poorly understood. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Snap and hiss! Showing how gators are always at the ready and will instinctually snap at sudden movements around them. Then Casper gives me a little defensive hiss when he doesn’t get any food, but calms back down. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Gators will talk back to the thunder! It’s so cool to see and honestly pretty cute! Today there was a crazy storm during my tours with lots of thunder and the gators were bellowing! Gators will respond to other loud sounds, especially deeper sounds with bass, and bellow back! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Can gators hear well underwater?? This is a video I’ve tried to do many times with mixed/delayed results. I don’t know if previously Casper couldn’t hear me or was just choosing to ignore me, but how cool is this!! When I’ve tried this before he would eventually come up but not nearly the same response I get on the surface, and this time he immediately came up. Could be a fluke, but still pretty darn cool! We know above water alligators have excellent hearing and I’ve demonstrated that many times. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Gator toes! I love their hands (paws?)! The have five toes in the front, four in the back, and claws on only the first three digits! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Do gators have tongues? Yes they do! They can’t stick it out like a human, it’s attached the whole way, but they do have muscular tongues that allow them to manipulate food in the mouth, as Casper is doing here to separate sand from food! Although he definitely ate a lot of sand 😂. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Calling the sand worm 😂 #dune #dunemovie #dune2 Alligators, like sand worms, are sensitive to vibrations and attracted to vibrations/movement! ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Gator munching ASMR😂. Casper chowing on a gator chow biscuit, with just a touch of sand for added flavor 😂. The Gator chow is made by @mazuri and has chicken, fish, beef, and more, I use them as treats for him. The sand he swallows will harmlessly pass through. ~~~If you enjoy the video, PLEASE SHARE!! Getting the educational content out there is our best bet to get people to care about and want to help wildlife! ~~~You can come swim with me and Casper! If you want to come join you can book online now, go to www.crocodilechris.com Let me know if you want to go! Observation and photos only at @evergladesoutpost and tour participants are separated from gators by safety fence. Remember all the gators you see me working with are rescue nuisance gators, caught from the wild as big as you see them now! The state kills 7k-8k each year. We volunteer our time to catch & rescue them and bring them to sanctuaries, unpaid. Wetsuit by @cressi1946 #Educational #EducationalVideo #AnimalEducation #EducationalPurposes #glades #southflorida #Miami #glades #reptile #reptilesofinstagram #underwaterphotography #gatortour #underwatergatortour #thingstodoinmiami #subaruambassador #scicomm #conservation #gator #Alligator

Spotted turtle save! I had to post the video after posting the photos earlier! I know this is boring to most people but for my hardcore animals nerds they’ll appreciate this😂. You can hear the excitement in my voice over such a tiny turtle 😂😂. I was filming landscape style for my vlogs all day, so sorry it isn’t in reels format. It was on a very busy road and when I passed it I was pretty sure it was a spotted turtle and flipped the truck around and sure enough, the first one I’ve ever seen!! I moved it across the road and released it in the direction it was going. #floridaspottedturtle #spottedturtle #herping #turtle #reptiles #florida