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Gators find home on geothermal spring in San Luis Valley |
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Saturday, December 03, 2011 10:30 |
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Photo by Joe Hanel, Durango Herald
By JOE HANEL, DURANGO HERALD
Jay Young was born to wrestle alligators.
He got his first bite from his mom’s pet caiman at age 5.
Now he’s Alligator Jay, the chief reptile wrangler at his family’s Colorado Gators farm, 17 miles north of Alamosa. With his baggy pants and leather hat studded with gator teeth, he looks like an extra from “Crocodile Dundee.”
The chilly, 7,500-foot elevation San Luis Valley is a most unlikely place for a gator farm. But there’s a logical explanation.
The Youngs’ property sits on a geothermal spring with a temperature of 87 degrees. So naturally, they started a tilapia farm. As the number of fish grew, they needed a way to dispose of the carcasses. So obviously, they bought some alligators.
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