The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in northeast Florida is home to something you won't find at almost any other institution: a rigorous professional training program dedicated entirely to crocodilians. The Crocodilian Biology and Management Course — informally known as Croc School — has been nearly 25 years in development and gives zoo and aquarium staff a deep grounding in the safe and effective care of alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials.
Over nine intensive days, students move through lectures, group projects and hands-on sessions covering taxonomy, reproductive biology, behavior, anatomy, physiology and conservation principles. The final day puts those lessons into practice with live-animal capture techniques used during routine health exams — the kind of skill that's difficult to develop anywhere else.
Faculty are drawn from some of the country's most respected institutions, including Zoo New England, the North Carolina Zoo, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Zoo Tampa, the Bronx Zoo, the University of Florida and Florida International University. Admission is highly competitive: only 20 seats are available per course, with priority given to staff from Association of Zoos and Aquariums–accredited facilities.
Kent Vliet, a board member and scientific adviser for the Alligator Farm, has emphasized the stakes behind the curriculum. As more crocodilian species face threatened or endangered status, he noted, having well-trained professionals overseeing their health and welfare becomes critical to their survival — and the course also aims to replace fear with understanding, so herpetology teams can work confidently with animals that carry an outsized reputation for danger.
The next session is scheduled for April 2027, with applications open to zoo and aquarium staff worldwide. More information is available at alligatorfarm.com. This story was originally reported by Lucia Viti for the St. Augustine Record.
