Have an affinity for reptile monsters that would love to eat you? Of course you do! Go to Alligator Adventure!

If it involves wild animals, warm weather and more wild animals, Bingles and I are there!  Especially if it’s in Myrtle Beach, although this is technically in North Myrtle Beach.  Yes, it’s a separate city…

Today’s feature is Alligator Adventure, which is part of Barefoot Landing.  We go there all the time, and for good reason.  Here is just a partial list of the creatures they have there:

• Alligators by the hundreds.
• Crocodiles, also by the hundreds.
• Utan, King of the Crocodiles (assumably because he’s so big, not because any actual royal lineage).
• Dozens of turtles, including giant Galapagoses (Galapagosii?).
• Dozens of exotic birds, including macaw parrots and these pinkish things that look like ostriches but are, in fact, not ostriches.
• Hundreds of reptiles, including iguanas and weird frogs of all types (yes I know they’re amphibians).
• Hundreds of snakes (yes I know they’re also reptiles) including a king cobra and some anacondas.
• River Otters (I love River Otters).
• Bison (I love River Otters).
• An extended family of Lemurs, which I tried to join.
• Two Tigers, which we watched fight over a duck one of them had killed.

The facility at Alligator Adventure is pretty big, with raised wooden walkways that take you throughout the man-made animal kingdom.  Of course, there are always fences around the walkways, because apparently alligators are excellent jumpers.

For the sake of brevity (and laziness) I only included about a dozen pics, and these do not do the place justice.  Literally everywhere you look, there are several exotic wild creatures staring back at you, with that “I want to eat you, but this fence is too high to jump” look on their faces.

What’s cool is, they have the gators (and crocs) in the water with fish, turtles, lizards, birds and everything else that would naturally be with them.  Because they are kept VERY well-fed, they don’t try to eat their neighbors. 

Although they do sometimes chase the turtles around, which is funny.

Anyway, here are some pics, as always:

Gators, gators, and more gators...

...or maybe they're crocodiles.

It's fun to watch Galapagos tortoises eat salad. That salad looked good too.

We sat on the floor and watched the lemurs for almost an hour. Towards the end, the started walking up to the glass, sitting down and staring back at us. It was hilarious!

They have two Albino alligators, which there are only a few of on the whole planet. They cannot live in the wild, because of their sensitivity to sunlight.

I forget if this is the other albino, or just a close-up of the same one.

Who doesn't love babies?

Bingles posing with our new buddies.

Here I am, posing with Utan, King of the Crocodiles. This photo doesn't do him justice; he's H-U-G-E!

"I am not a crook!"

We like to watch the live feedings, as well as the baby gator shows.  If you’ve never pet a gator, here’s your chance.

ATTENTION JEWISH PEOPLE!  I have been informed by my Rabbi that it is against Jewish Law to touch a reptile.  So if you do, don’t tell your Rabbi.

Admission is $16.95 for adults, $14.95 for seniors, $10.95 for kids 4-12, and FREE for kids under 4!

And keep your tickets, because they’re good for another FREE visit within 7 days of your first visit!

So come on down to (North) Myrtle Beach and visit Alligator Adventure!

Bingles and me, we like animals. We especially like big animals. Preferably with fangs.

So when we found out about The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (which, coincidentally, spells T.I.G.E.R.S.) we booked the first tour of the site we could get.

T.I.G.E.R.S. does daily free shows at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach during the summer from 5pm-8pm.  We love going there to look at the baby and adult tigers, as well as the monkeys.

At Barefoot, T.I.G.E.R.S. also gives you an opportunity to get ripped off have your picture taken with a monkey for about $90.  That didn’t interest us at all.

But when Bingles found out that we could go to their 50-acre preserve and interact with all sorts of wild animals, we jumped at the chance.  It cost about $350 for the two of us, but it was Bingles’ birthday, so why not?

So later that week, we were on our way to Socastee, which is hilarious because when you think of Socastee, you don’t exactly think “exotic animals.”

Anyway, when we got there, we were greeted by a huge guy in a kilt.  We don’t have a picture of him, so here’s an artist’s rendering:

He didn't really look like this.

He was a great guy, and he told us all about the T.I.G.E.R.S. Preserve.  He also summoned a hawk (he’s a hawkmaster, or a hawk guru, or something like that) and told us he would show us some other birds later.

Next, we were brought into a really nice building that overlooked the Preserve.  We had to sign releases, saying that we recognized that wild animals like to kill humans, including us, blah blah blah…

As we were doing this, we were invited to go outside and meet someone named Hercules:

This is Hercules.

Hercules is a liger, which is a mix of a lion and a tiger. It’s pretty much my favorite animal. And Hercules is the largest feline alive; over 11 feet long, and weighing half a ton. This cat is crazy big, and we loved watching him drink from a baby bottle fed by a barely 5ft. tall woman (sorry, no pics).

Next, they brought out a bangarong bongaring bearcat, and he walked across our laps. We were then invited to smell our fingers:

I like Doritos.

Bearcats secrete some chemical that smells like doritos, which apparently is hated by predators. Hey, to each his own….more Doritos for me.

Next, we met back up with Kilt Man and got some one-on-one time with a HUGE owl.

Now, I’ve never really though much of owls. I didn’t dislike them, I had just never put a lot of thought into them one way or the other.

After this experience, I am now a BIG fan of owls. This guy’s eyes were mezmorizing. They were huge and shiny. He was a real beauty. And he must’ve sensed that I thought he was cool, because in between pictures he would turn his head all the way around and stare right at me.

Next, we were taken to Baby Tiger Central.  No, that’s not what they call it, that’s what I call it…

Bingles loves baby tigers.

Me too.

 First, they put the babys next to you so they can get comfortable with your scent.  At this age (I have no idea what the age is) their eyes are still shut, so they only go by smell.

Next, they put the babies in your lap:

She started crying soon after this.

 These little guys were so cute.  It was surprisingly similar to a large regular cat, which is amazing because these guys were newborns.

After that, they brought out some slightly older cubs:

This little guy loved Bingles.

For some reason, I look scared in this picture. I actually was upset that the lady to the right was trying to take the kitty from us.

But we got to keep him.

One thing to note: one of the tiger breeds they have is the Golden Tabby Tiger, which at one point was extinct.  But T.I.G.E.R.S. has worked hard, breeding tigers together that had the recessive Tabby gene, to literally bring them back into existence!

So if you do go, you’ll feel good knowing you are helping to renew a once-extinct species!

Anyway, next we were given a photo-op with an even older cub (again, I have no idea of the ages):

For those looking at this who know just how much Bingles loves big cats, you can appreciate these pictures.

Bingles loves big cats more than most humans.  Oddly enough, she’s not a fan of regular-sized cats, but she has a real thing for big ones.  Needless to say, she was in Big Cat Heaven. 

Unfortunately, we have no pictures of the best part of this tour, which is when we walked through the forest, surrounded by dozens of tigers and ligers.

It was one of the most exhilirating things in my left, to walk in the middle of these giant cats, as they all stared at us, probably wondering how stupid we were to be doing this.  If only they had known we had actually PAID to do it…

Next we had a light lunch, and then came the primates.  Here are a few of the highlights:

The above picture is one of my favorite of all time.  I told everyone that they looked like our kids. They have the same hair color as Bingles, and they have my nose and ears.

Also, they were acting like typical kids; one looking at the camera and smiling, and the other holding Mommy and pouting.

Our fun with the primates coming to a close, we then went back to the main building.  When we got there, we were greeted by some wolf puppies.  Some of the people on the tour were scared, but I just kept thinking “doggies!  doggies!  doggies!”  I love doggies.  Doggies are the best animals in the world.

And these wolf pups were just like your typical doggies, just as happy as could be to climb in your lap, sniff you all over and lick your face.  I LOVED IT!  Sorry, no pics.

Fortunately, we did get our picture taken with an adult wolf:

I looooove doggies.

After all the wild animal fun was done, we went back in the main building and had ice cream, granola bars, cheese and crackers, and various other snack foods.  And yes, we did fill our pockets.

What?  I paid $350 to get in there.  I’m taking some Sun Chips with me.

Anyway, for anyone who wants to get some literally hands-on interaction with all sorts of awesome animals, go see T.I.G.E.R.S. Preserve.  They now have an elephant, and you can swim in a pool with it.  Yes, we are going back.

And if you’re looking for some free tiger-watching, go to Barefoot Landing and check out the T.I.G.E.R.S. showcase from 5pm-8pm during the summer months.

And if you want to get ripped off, pay $90 to have your picture taken with a monkey They also offer photographs with the animals.

As a service to one of our clients, Cohen & Associates Real Estate, we showcase their listings on numerous online venues, including our blog.

Here is the latest one: 935 Little Creek Road, a Half-Acre Hilltop Home in The Forest at Briarcliffe!!

1st Video: Around the Outside
 

2nd Video: Inside the Home

Sit out on your brand new large deck and enjoy the great forest views in your 2BR/2BA home in The Forest at Briarcliffe! By far, the most affordable home in The Forest! Sits on the top of a little hill!

Huge bedrooms! Oversized 1-car garage and covered carport, with lots of additional driveway parking! Low-maintenance yard with mature landscaping! Home has new flooring, new roofing, new interior paint and new large back deck!

The Forest at Briarcliffe is a beautiful community situated between Myrtle Beach Mall and Barefoot Landing! A quiet, wooded neighborhood, just a mile from the Ocean, and minutes from everything the Grand Strand has to offer!

Live in Myrtle Beach without paying the City Property Taxes! Come see this Gem today!
 
For more info, go to the 935 Little Creek Road Tour or call Cohen & Associates Real Estate at 1-800-232-7998.

Go to CohenMyrtleBeach.com for all the information you want about Myrtle Beach Real Estate!