Zookeepers wrestle alligator to save eggs

It took at five zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby to restrain a female alligator while others raided the nest for eggs.



"There are a couple of reasons we need to remove the eggs," said Tim Faulkner, Executive Manager of Operations at the Australian Reptile Park. "One is that alligators are cannibals. If they hatched in here they would be eaten by all other alligators."

The climate around the Sydney region is also too hot for the eggs to hatch naturally. The alligator's jaws can produce a lethal force, and around 40 other alligators were lurking in a nearby lagoon whilst the zookeepers were completing their task.


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"Female 'gators, they pack a powerful punch, because she's defending a nest and that means she's giving it her all," Mr Faulkner explained. Fifteen eggs were collected, and taken away to be incubated in a safe environment. Baby alligators are expected to hatch after 70 days of incubation.