In 1907, Joseph "Alligator Joe" Campbell and Francis Victor Earnest Sr. relocated a crocodile farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to the Selig Zoo and film studio near Los Angeles. Crocodile farms rent reptiles to the film industry.
In May 1953, the farm moved to Buena Park in Orange County and continued to operate as a California crocodile farm until 1984, when its lease was not renewed.
The farm's four buildings feature more than 100 snakes and lizards from around the world. The farm is home to alligator turtles, giant tortoises and more than 1,000 specimens, and is known as the largest collection of reptiles in the world.
The initial ticket is only 25 cents, and visitors can peruse crocodile skin bags in the gift shop, watch trained crocodiles slide down the 16-foot slide, or have their children ride on animals for photos. The Crocodile Park was once one of the most popular tourist attractions in Los Angeles.
A brochure on the farm claimed. "Hundreds of crocodiles of various sizes can be seen here, from small babies that are barely the size of lizards to giant monsters of 500 years old or larger." This is inaccurate because an American crocodile expires around the age of 50.
Crocodiles are isolated in a series of 20 ponds depending on their size. They range in size from a few inches to 13 feet.
In 1910, Arthur Enkersley published an article in the Monthly Overland magazine describing how to catch crocodiles, how to hatch crocodile eggs, and even how to train animals.
"As long as there's a strong thread and a big iron bar with pork as bait, catching a crocodile is as easy as catching a trout with a small fish," Inkersley writes, "but you have to know what to do with the crocodile when you catch it." "
Although signs warn visitors not to "throw stones at crocodiles, spit on them, hit them or tease them in any way," adults and children often flirt with crocodiles on the farm. Some crocodiles were even stolen by university pranksters.
These photos taken at the Los Angeles Crocodile Farm show people interacting with crocodiles in a variety of ways. Young children can be seen playing with baby crocodiles or observing them at close range.
Visitors and crocodiles get up close and have fun with crocodiles
Visitors can even enjoy a crocodile ride, where children can sit in a special saddle and ride a crocodile in the pond. One of the highlights of the park was watching the keepers lure the crocodiles up a set of stairs and then slide down a 16-foot-high slide into the waterhole.
Crocodiles make loud noises at night, which becomes a problem for neighbors. In addition, when rainwater floods a nearby reservoir, water spills over onto the farm, giving the crocodiles the opportunity to repeatedly enter nearby canals, backyards and occasionally swimming pools.
By the 1950s, the zoo had moved to Buena Park, but the freshness had faded. The attraction was closed in 1984 as annual visitors dropped to less than 50,000 (and the lease was not renewed). The crocodile was sold to a private estate in Florida.
The crocodile farm even welcomes dogs to visit here
Some tourists even swim with crocodiles. The park is often used as a location for film and photo shoots
Feed the baby crocodiles
This kind of photography looks cool
A small child playing with a small crocodile
True crocodile sofa
The crocodile slide is one of the park's most popular attractions
Tourists watched as the animal trainer fed the crocodile food
Promotional postcards from 1907