Some cool underwater footage with Casper!! I never get tired of seeing alligators underwater, there’s something so magical and Jurassic Park-esque about seeing them gliding through the water. I’ve been swimming with gators over a decade and still am in awe of them. ~~~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
“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
Gator bellowing! The first clip is Casper bellowing a few years ago, and the last clip is him bellowing just this morning during my tours! 🐊😤🐊 So impressive to hear in person, but even more impressive to FEEL the vibrations, because this close I can feel it move through my whole body! They even used gator bellow sounds in the T-Rex roar in Jurassic park! 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 here. ~~~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
AMBUSH PREDATORS! Gators are built to so and wait, patiently watching and relying on camouflage. They will pursue prey in the water and are very fast, but they’re not built to chase and run down someone like people think, that’s just in the CGI movies not reality! 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
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
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
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
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
So if it’s not a trick, why do I change my tone when I talk to Casper?? Because that’s how I want to TEACH people to talk to animals, to speak to them softly and with compassion, not some BS macho dominance. People often think he just knows the tone and not the words, here ya go! You can also see from my video the other day where George calls him and he listens 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. 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
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 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
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
Is Casper my pet? NOPE! Gators are not pets, they’re not a domesticated animal, and should never be thought of as pets. Sadly some states still allow the sale of baby gators as pets; most these animals don’t survive their first few years, and those that do usually develop horrible disfigurements from metabolic bone disease. 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
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
I’ve worked with this gator over 15 years, he is a wild caught nuisance alligator! He’s trained, not tame, not domesticated, but an intelligent animal who understands I’m not going to hurt him. 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
I get a ton of questions about the viral video of the croc ripping the other’s leg off and whether crocodilians feel pain, and the fact is that they do!! They just have incredible pain tolerance, and they don’t express themselves in a way that is easy for a human to perceive. Just because we can’t easily perceive it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist though! Check out the full version of this topic in the long form video I posted yesterday on my YT channel! ~~~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