M
On The Road Again
Hot Springs, Ark. By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal
The ostensibly oxymoronic name of the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo might cause one some apprehension.
ABOVE: The attraction puts on alligator feeding shows three times a week. “Alligators are not really that mean or aggressive,” said Jamie Bridges, who co-owns and managers the attraction. “You can poke them and they will move out of the way.” TOP: The Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo receives about 300 visitors a month during its busiest months during spring and summer breaks. Photos provided by Designs Group Consulting
12 THE MUNICIPAL | SEPTEMBER 2021
But the family-oriented attraction in Hot Springs has been entertaining and educating children and adults for more than a century. Yes, it is possible to hold and pet a baby alligator. In fact, that is one of the most popular features of the tourist attraction, which also maintains a petting area with emus, pygmy goats, miniature donkeys and sheep. Also housed at the zoo: a cougar, lemurs, flat-nosed guenon monkey, wolves, ducks, wild turkeys, rabbits, raccoons, turtles, black belly sheep, peacocks, silkies (described as a cross between a chicken and a rabbit) and other domestic and exotic animals. Visitors can feed the animals in the petting zoo, with all feed provided by the management; for $5 a venture, they can also feed baby alligators meat on a stick or some of the aviary’s 80 parakeets seeds on a stick. Alligator feeding shows are held at noon every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday May through mid-October. Typically 100 to 200 spectators line the fence to watch the show. “Some people come back every year,” said Jamie Bridges, who manages the enterprise, “and we get 99% positive reviews.” He shows up at