Brian Bridges grew up with the Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo, which has been in his family since 1965.
Opened in 1902, the attraction is one of Hot Springs’ oldest and most iconic, and Bridges serves as director of marketing. The alligator farm and the petting zoo, of course, make for two distinct components to the overall experience, and working at each of them requires quite different levels of composure.
“Maintaining a gator pen requires respect, caution and a deep understanding of the animals, especially during the hotter months,” Bridges said. “For the most part, taking care of alligators isn’t dangerous, but summer is when you really have to stay on your toes. That’s when the gators are most active and aggressive, particularly around feeding time.”
Bridges said the farm is currently home to roughly 140 gators. Every 10 years, the farm receives a new group of baby gators from Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, which keeps the park’s population healthy and thriving, he added.
“The babies usually arrive about 4 to 5 inches long. We typically get around a dozen at a time,” he said. “It’s always exciting for our staff and guests to watch them grow and become part of the larger alligator community here at the farm.”
The gators are the star attraction, of course, but the park’s petting zoo and exotic animal exhibits are “just as beloved,” Bridges said, and especially popular with first-time visitors and families with kids. Feed is furnished to all guests for free.
“The petting zoo is a hands-on experience where guests can interact with friendly animals like goats, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, tortoises and ducks,” he said. “Visitors are welcome to go right into the enclosure with the goats and even hand-feed some of the animals, including our tortoises. Kids absolutely love that level of interaction.”
The Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo is home to roughly 140 gators, above, exotic animals like emus, seen here, and, of course, a petting zoo. (Photos provided)
The park also is home to a variety of other animals, including emus, silky chickens, raccoons, several species of ducks, old loggerhead turtles, two wolves, lemurs and vervet monkeys.
“One of the most popular attractions is our parakeet enclosure, where guests can feed about 50 colorful parakeets with seed sticks,” Bridges said. “It’s a hit with all ages.”
The gators, of course, earn their top billing. Visitors can gaze upon the larger gators in their outdoor pens, as well as safely hold or touch the smaller ones.
“Our alligators remain a huge draw,” Bridges said. “It’s a unique experience that keeps people coming back year after year.”
A different level of focus is required for maintaining the gator pens, of course.
“In the past, we used to feed the gators from inside the enclosures, but due to safety concerns, we now feed them from secure docks,” Bridges said. “It’s a much safer method, especially considering a large gator can exert up to 3,000 pounds of bite force and may attempt a death roll during feeding.”
Bridges’ father, current co-owner Jamie Bridges, once had to get 36 stitches in his arm after a gator bite received during a feeding show, and his grandfather, Jack Bridges Jr., once needed 30 stitches in his hand after an encounter, he said.
“Those experiences taught us a lot about safety and the importance of working smart around these powerful animals,” Bridges said. “In the winter months, it’s a different story. Gators go into a state similar to hibernation. Their heart rates drop, they don’t eat, and they become much less active. That’s when we’re able to go into the enclosures to examine them more closely.”
The park has remained popular over the decades but has seen a steady uptick in recent years.
“We’ve seen a steady increase in visitors over the past decade, with numbers growing year over year,” Bridges said. “One of our busiest periods was during 2020 and 2021, when families were looking for safe outdoor activities, and we were fortunate to provide that kind of experience. For over a century, the farm has remained a beloved family-run destination. Each generation has helped preserve its charm while continuing to grow and adapt, offering visitors a unique and memorable experience rooted in Hot Springs tradition.”
Petting zoo (Photo provided)
Bridges said spring and summer represent the park’s busiest times, as expected. July is typically the park’s busiest month, followed by March, when spring breakers converge on Hot Springs.
“The seasonal influx really highlights how much people enjoy including the farm in their Hot Springs getaway plans,” he added.
The alligator farm’s lore is strengthened by its role in the birth of Babe Ruth as a home-run hitter. Before the Babe rose to fame as a long-ball hitter who set the Major League Baseball home run record, he was primarily a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, which annually regrouped in Hot Springs each spring to soak away off seasons of drink and debauchery in Spa City’s famed thermal baths.
“One of our favorite stories is from March 17, 1918 — St. Patrick’s Day — when Babe Ruth hit a legendary home run from what used to be the Whittington Park field, right across the street from the farm,” Bridges said. “The ball landed in one of our alligator ponds and was measured at 573 feet, making it the first recorded home run longer than 500 feet in baseball history.
“Ruth trained in Hot Springs nine times and was a familiar face around town. That iconic hit remains a unique and memorable part of both baseball history and our farm’s legacy.”
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