Legacy

It’s a typical summer Friday in South Louisiana — the kind of day where you can bottle the air and drink it through a straw — and in an open barn off a derelict highway in Covington, I was just bitten by an alligator.

This alligator — along with 1,500 others — resides on Insta-Gator Ranch in Covington, where 88 percent of the crocodilians will grow up to be wallets, shoes, belts, handbags and sausages. The remaining 12 percent will be released into the wild. One thing they all share in common, though, is the potential to one day save lives.

Insta-Gator Ranch, the only gator farm in the state that allows visitors, takes part in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries “sustained use management program” of alligators. This system, implemented in 1972, helps restore the species’ population after it’s classification as endangered five years prior.  By 1987, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced a complete recovery of the species.

Harvesting for Insta-Gator requires an Ultralight aircraft for egg spotting and an airboat to retrieve the eggs.  However, handling eggs while alligator mothers hover nearby does present its problems.

“[Harvesting eggs] scares the heck out of you,” exclaims Jim Piculas, a substitute teacher-turned-alligator rancher.  “These are monsters.”

Most of these “monsters,” separated in water-filled pens according to age and length, will one day sit on dinner tables or become expensive accessories. Researchers at LSU and throughout the scientific community, however have  found even more practical uses for alligators.

Tucked away in an office in the food science building, Dr. Jack Losso, a jovial associate professor, talks excitedly about his studies with alligators.

“There’s close to two million pounds of alligator waste per year … we wanted to use alligator waste — bones, unused skin … to isolate collagen for cosmetics,” Losso explains.  “What we produce is almost 100 percent pure.”

Losso and his colleagues have succeeded in producing this collagen from alligator carcasses.  The product is already on the market.

Collagen, the most naturally abundant protein in the animal kingdom, is responsible for providing human skin and tissues with strength and protection from certain degrees of sun damage.  The protein is already used in a wide array of cosmetics and injections for cosmetic surgery.

Collagen also has curative properties, as it can aid in regenerating tissues, helping to heal wounds and possibly inhibit growth of tumors.

The natural environment in the marshes and swamps of the Gulf coast is ripe with opportunities for infection and disease. Gators, however, are some of the healthiest animals.

“Alligators can be exposed to bacteria and have never been exposed to them before but their bodies know how to fight them … ours don’t,” says Lancia Darville, a chemistry graduate student at the University.

Darville, who works with Dr. Mark Merchant from McNeese State University, explains that their project began when Merchant took parts of blood from an American alligator, isolated them and exposed them to different types of microorganisms — bacteria, viruses and fungi.

“He found that the majority of those microorganisms were depleted after being exposed … The same thing happened with HIV.  Over 90 percent of it depleted, so that’s really exciting,” Darville says.

All 16 of the microorganisms placed in alligator blood serum were killed, including the herpes simplex virus, HIV, E. coli and the bacteria that causes staph, strep, salmonella and dysentery.  Human blood serum was only successful in killing six of these.

The ultimate goal is to be able to sequence antimicrobial peptides from American alligator blood.  Sequencing these peptides — which are essentially small portions of proteins found in blood — would lead to a basic blueprint for production of future medicines.  Because implantation of alligator blood in humans is deadly, a synthetic chemical version of the proteins could allow humans to still obtain the medical benefits of those peptides.

“Ultimately we would like to be able to mimic them for medicinal use,” explains Darville.

Price has seen the natural immunities  alligators possess first-hand at Insta-Gator.

“I’ve never had a vet come here,” he said about his ranch.  “We’ve raised over 35,000 and only lost a few to unknown reasons.”

Price began Insta-Gator Ranch in 1989.  It was not until twelve years later, in 2001, that it was opened to the public for tours.

Though some found it odd that he went from hunting a species to working to protect it, Price explains that it’s really part of the same cycle.  The money the state charges for hunting and fishing licenses (and even for the tags placed on Price’s released gators) goes toward protecting its animals.

“Hunting of animals is really protection of animals … Ducks Unlimited is one of the biggest supporters of wetland conservation [and they sell hunting goods],” says Price.

Louisiana’s own sustained use policy of the American alligator has actually served as an oft-cited model of animal re-population worldwide.  This intense re-population of the alligator means that Louisiana could stand to be in for growth of a lucrative new medical market.

“We want our Louisiana business to be in a position to take advantage of these new markets,” Losso says.

Until more breakthroughs are made, however, the possible key to fighting the economic recession will be lurking in swamps and marshes of the Gulf Coast.

As I waited for the adolescent alligator jaws to release my finger, Piculas tell me this little guy won’t be able to cause any real damage for about another year.  Though his sandpaper-like teeth only hint at the development of something more menacing, I find the force behind his jaws undeniable.  At 9 inches, he’s only a miniature version of his powerful ancestors, but with scientific advances on the horizon, his potential is ultimately infinite.

Gator Aid Fun Facts:

● There are 60 licensed gator ranchers in Louisiana.

● Ranchers use 88% and release 12% into wild.

● The 12% of gators that are returned to wild represent a larger number than would survive on their own.

● Less than 15% of hatchlings ever renew adulthood in wild.

● Once a gator reaches four feet it is considered an adult.

● Gators can jump 2/3 of their body length.

See a slideshow of more photos from the gator ranch.