We emphasize enrichment here at the museum pretty heavily with our animals. It gives them something to do and a lot of the time they keepers and guests enjoy watching the animals interact. Our alligators are very inquisitive at the museum. I will admit, all my life alligators were probably my least favorite animal. I am not sure why, I always considered them fast, aggressive and just intimidating. Working here with our gators has helped me develop a better viewpoint on them. I actually enjoy working with this batch of gators we have. Nick, one of the employees you might see around the museum snapped this photo a few months ago.

I took video of when they received the same enrichment.

Why rubber ducks?

We like to give our animals variety, one day it might be a fruit or vegetable floating on the surface. While the gators don’t eat these things, they explore by bumping, grabbing, biting or rolling with the object.