Hurricane Sally worries Mississippi gator ranch

As Hurricane Sally's outer bands reached the Gulf Coast Tuesday, the manager of an alligator ranch in Moss Point, Mississippi, was hoping he wouldn't have to live a repeat of what happened at the alligator farm during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

That's when about 250 alligators escaped their enclosures as Katrina's storm surge pushed 12 feet of water over the gator farm grounds, lifting the reptiles over fences surrounding their enclosures – and then pulling them back toward the Gulf of Mexico as the tide receded after the storm passed.

Tim Parker, the manager of Gulf Coast Gator Ranch & Tours who took over after Katrina, said many of the washed-away alligators eventually landed in protected wetlands south of Moss Point, a boon for the gators but a loss of revenue for the company.

Parker said his facility isn't a slaughter farm but rather a ranch and visitor center that gives people a chance to see alligators up close, learn about them and understand their habitat.

Parker said he currently has about 60 alligators – some up to 14 feet long – swimming and roaming ponds, sand dunes and tall marsh grasses.

He said Sally has been a stressful storm because forecasters were predicting her storm surge to bring as much as nine feet (2.75 metres) of water to the Moss Point area, which Parker says would have almost certainly meant the loss of not only the alligators but the company's airboats – which sink if rain isn't drained every few hours during storms.

Parker says he typically stays on the property during heavy rainstorms to keep the boats properly drained, so they don't sink. He said he wouldn't be able to do that if the water level was anywhere near nine feet.

By Tuesday evening, water was already lapping over the top of the boat dock at the alligator ranch, but Parker said he was feeling some relief. New surge predictions had dropped to four feet or less for the Moss Point area, he said.

Still, he had his pickup truck waiting on higher ground nearby in case the prediction was wrong and he had to get out.