Swamp Tours; An Interesting Travel Idea In Houma, LA

Swamp tours are a tourist attraction made popular in southern Louisiana by a woman named Annie Miller and the real "Swamp People." She later became known as "Alligator Annie." Annie became known for her boat tours, on which she would hand feed massive alligators as well as give an educational experience to her audience. Over the years, Annie had trained different wildlife to venture up to the boat and feed on the chicken that she would dangle over the side. This made for amazing photo opportunities and rare sights that would be forever remembered.

These tours are not only a thrilling visual experience, but also an educational one. Tourists are given the chance to learn about the swamps and bayous and their wildlife, from someone who grew up there and has done the research. Annie was no "one-trick-pony", not only did she deal with the wildlife, but she had also studied it. She was a certified snake wrangler, and knew the ins and outs of each animal that she interacted with. Sadly Annie passed away just a few years ago, but her company is still going. Her sons now handle the swamp tours and continue on her tradition of having the alligators "jump" out of the water.

Annie's sons have continued the tours in much the way that she had done them. The tours are about two hours long, and are given year round. You will experience vast amounts of wildlife and plant life, many of which are unique to this area. If you are a tourist who is not familiar with the area at all, I highly recommend this tour, as it is really the only way to experience these things in a safe and certified manner.

During one of the thousands of tours Annie had given, she came across a nest of alligator eggs. Now this was not a rare occurrence in the swamps, but what was rare was the fact that one of the eggs had hatched and a baby white alligator was resting in the nest. This was a first for Annie, so she made the decision to gather the eggs and to deliver them to the Audubon Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. The researchers there determined that the alligators were not albino, but were simply white. A few of the remaining gators from that nest are still on display in both the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.