Candice Canato

Alligator Farm reptile charmers accept risky job

By Emily Hoover | ehoover@flagler.edu
Photos and captions by Angela Daidone

For Jim Darlington, assistant curator of reptiles at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, facing danger on a daily basis is just part of the job.

“When you know what you’re doing, you can put yourself in danger,” Darlington, who has worked at the zoological park for 17 years, said. “When I’m in [the alligator lagoon] working with the animals, I always have to be on my toes.”