Crocodile Menu at Florida Farm

PALMDALE, Fla., Nov. 19, 2004, — -- A dozen pairs of ominous olive eyes and snouts emerge from the murky lagoon, gathering near the dock where Roy Dyer stands with a five-gallon bucket of raw chicken.

He coos to them like kittens and dangles a chicken leg over the water until one of the crocodiles leaps up -- revealing 64 menacing teeth -- and slams its powerful jaws shut around the snack with such force that it can be heard inside the gift shop.

It's eatin' time at Gatorama, a venerable Florida roadside attraction and gator farm with nearly 4,000 alligators and crocodiles.

And after watching the reptiles chow down, visitors can sample the creatures themselves: the restaurant serves gator ribs and specialties made from Florida's other white meat.

The delicacy tastes "close to pork, but there's no bone or fat," said Patty Register, who owns and operates Gatorama along with her husband, Allen. She disputes any likeness to chicken.

In addition to a menu of gator dishes, Gatorama claims to have the largest collection of large alligators and crocodiles -- about 60 that are 12 feet or longer -- and the only breeding colony of alligators in the United States.

Gatorama was one of the state's original gator farms -- it holds one of 30 licenses issued in 1987 -- and is one of about 18 farms currently producing in Florida, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Statewide, Florida farms produced more than 207,000 pounds of alligator meat and more than 27,000 hides in 2002, the most recent year statistics are available.

Gatorama harvests about 1,000 alligators annually and sells more than 15,000 pounds of meat a year, most of it over-the-counter at the Gatorama gift shop, although they will ship it overnight anywhere.

Despite the demand for the meat, Register said they're more interested in tourism than farming, even though "it's a harder way to make a living."

When Gatorama opened in 1957, it was one of about 70 roadside tourist attractions in Florida, Register said. Now it is among the 20 or so that have survived competition from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and other big theme parks.