Winter brumation is over. The Australian Reptile Park's alligator lagoon has erupted back into action, and Ivan the three-metre giant led the charge.
Four months. No food. Fifty-three very hungry American alligators. When the first feed of spring finally arrived at the Australian Reptile Park's alligator lagoon this week, there was absolutely no hesitation.
Following a warmer winter than usual on the NSW Central Coast, the Park's alligators emerged from brumation earlier than expected, with increased movement, fighting and their unmistakable bellowing echoing across the lagoon weeks before keepers typically see it.
Brumation is the reptilian equivalent of hibernation. As temperatures drop over winter, alligators' metabolisms slow dramatically along with their appetite and activity levels. The warmer the winter, the sooner they wake up, and hungry.
"Winter definitely wrapped up a bit early this year and the alligators were fired up straight away, we knew it was time to start feeding them," said Billy Collett, Park Manager.
Feeding 53 American alligators is not a simple operation. Six experienced keepers manage the process, offering raw meat from the end of the jetty while carefully monitoring the lagoon and the movement of the animals throughout the feed. After four months without so much as a bite, the response was spectacular.
"It's been four months since they've had food so mate they were so keen. They were literally just tail walking out of the water, jumping right up to the ramp, there were just jaw snapping here there and everywhere," said Billy.
Leading the charge was Ivan, the largest American alligator in Australia at almost three metres long. Ivan pushed other alligators out of the way as he powered towards the food, with fellow heavyweight Googly right behind him adding to the intensity of the lagoon's first feed back for the season.
The feeds will continue daily throughout the school holidays, with the alligators at their most active and most dramatic after months of winter quiet. It is one of the most spectacular wildlife shows in Australia, and it happens every day.
Come and witness the feeding frenzy at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby on the Central Coast, just one hour from Sydney or Newcastle.