Guided Tour Of The Ross Allen Reptile Institute

[Music] Roth Allen the famous star of countless Wildlife adventure movies is going to show us on guided tour today how he keeps the Ross Allen reptile Institute down at Florida's Silver Springs with wild animals and reptiles at the same time old son Tom Allen a lesson in how he captured with his bare hands they're cruising along the Silver River keeping a sharp lookout for The elusive Gators Ross is spotted a big 8ft alligator in the water and over the side he goes one snap of a Gator's massive Jaws or even a well-directed flip of his heavy tail is Enough To Kill a Man and Ross Allen is one of the few men in the world who dare to stalk the big reptiles this way right in their own element not many men would come to grips unarmed and underwater with a 200 lb monster like this one Ross has had lots of experience though and he's never yet lost a fight with an alligator as he puts it you only lose a contest with them once and he's learned never to underestimate the strength and speed of the big gers Ross is beginning to get this monster under control and in just a few seconds he'll have another fascinating exhibit for the Ross Allen reptile Institute the wildlife expert travels all over the world to capture the animals he has on display at Florida Silver Springs but he stalked many of them in the Florida swamps and jungles too thousands of visitors every day will see the alligator in its new home in the Ross Allen reptile Institute at Florida's Silver Springs along with the hundreds of other large and small Gators on display here the Ross Allen reptile Institute is a fascinating attraction and the only one of its kind and size in the world let's follow these visitors on their tour of a real seol Indian village right on the ground of The Institute these seol native to Florida left the Everglades in 1935 to make their home at Florida's Silver Springs living working and playing just as their people have for centuries even their colorful costumes Handmade by the women of the tribe remain unchanged the SE old women in the Indian village at Ross Allen reptile Institute are colorfully costumed and they enjoy posing for visitors cameras many of their intricate dresses are made up of more than 2,000 pieces of cloth and the long skirted garments are ideally suited to the Florida jungles in which they live the women busy themselves with cooking weaving sewing and doll making in the typical seol Hut which are open for visitors inspection grinding corn with a mortar and pestle is hard work but the young girls of the tribe learn to perform this chore and many others at an early age cornmeal is one of the Staples of the seol diet and the Indians have milled their grain in this primitive fashion for centuries Francis Oola is one of the residents of the Indian village at Ross Allen reptile Institute here he demonstrates as he does for visitors to the Village how the Indians wrestle and sub alligators deep in the Everglades once the alligator is wrestled onto its back it can actually be lulled to sleep by gentle Strokes on its stomach it takes only a few sharp Grunts and a gentle poke to bring the gator completely back to its fenes full of fight and ready to go the littlest seol in the village is a 5day old infant posing here with his mother Alat Oola and Ross Alan Ross is more accustomed to handling Wild animals and fighting reptiles than fragile bundles like this but he's doing his best one of the lecturers at Ross Allen's reptile Institute seems to be having some trouble with a Heckler in the audience as he attempts to describe the fine points of a boa consp Victor well there's only one way to handle a situation like this and that is to make the Heckler a part of the ACT 17-year-old Linda Kennedy a University of Georgia student goes along with the gag and the boa constrictor on forid Battle teacher to interfere with a reptile lecture The Institute Believe It or Not does a Brisk trade in selling snakes of all kinds and sizes of visitors this prospective customer carefully watched by his sister is looking over everything available before making a decision it was a difficult choice for a true reptile fancier but the youngster finally decided on the Eastern hog noosed snake and rejected the indigo snake it's hard to tell whether his selection meets with his sister's approval or not but it's easy to see the reptile Institute has one more satisfied customer the grounds of Ross Allen reptile Institute are filled with unusual and colorful subjects for visitors cameras like these stately pink flamingos in their natural setting it's time for another jungle Advent and another lesson for young Tom Allen as Roth prepares to turn a 20ft South American andaconda loosen the Waters of Silver Springs just to see how long it takes him to recapture it Reena Starling a member of The Institute staff is an interested and somewhat apprehensive Observer when they let the big snake out burlap sack he won't have much room to get out of the way helping to untie the sack Tom Allen snagged his hand on one of the snakes teeth right through the burlap it's only a scratch though and the Anaconda isn't a poisonous snake so Ross allows the youngster to continue with the demonstration just look at the size of that monster heading away from the boat and straight for the guided tour cameras the big anaconda makes a spectacular sight swimming through the crystal clear Silver Springs Waters Ross is right behind the reptile low and he begins to work his way up to the snake's head while Tom stands by now the action really begins as Ross and The Enormous Conor fight it out on the floor of the Springs these are some of the most unusual and exciting films ever made of Ross Allen in one of the most thrilling episodes of his adventurous life while the Anaconda is a nonpoisonous snake it effectively disposes of its prey with a constrictive tightening of its massive coils in this struggle the Anaconda frequently succeeds in getting one or more coils around Ross Allen the average 15-year-old high school student would much rather tackle his algebra and Latin texts than 120 Tom andaconda but not Tom Allen he was raised by his famous father to have plenty of respect but no fear at all for the wild animals and reptiles that are the family business when it comes time for Tom to take a hand with the big conector he pitches in with a will and shows that he learned his lessons well when it begins to look as though things may be getting out of hand with the Anaconda securing two coils around Tom's leg Ross swims into the rescue a thoroughly subdued Anaconda is returned to its sack by the Father and Son team after a spine tingling demonstration here at Florida Silver Spring completely unharmed by the underwater exercise the Anaconda is returned to the reptile Institute area and turned loose so that handlers can replace the big reptile in its exhibition enclosure in the rattlesnake enclosure at the reptile Institute where lecture demonstrations are given every hour Ross persuad some Eastern Diamond Backs to strike a toy balloon displaying their lightning like speed these poisonous reptiles are every bit as dangerous as they look and while Ross may appear to be somewhat incautiously strolling among them he's actually alert for the slightest Movement by any of the snakes around him this little wriggler may look harmless enough he's only several inches long but it's a deadly Eastern coral snake one of the most poisonous found in this country the brightly colored coral snake like most venomous reptiles will seldom strike at a human unless provoked and this one appears to be provoked enough right now holding one of the Diamond Back snakes up for inspection rth Allen exhibits the buttons or rattles on the snake's tail this end of the snake makes all the noise and Trust Ross says but [Music] it's the gouki boots worn by Ross Allen and other lecturers at his reptile Institute are tough enough to deflect the fangs of a striking rattlesnake and they extend above the usual height to which a rattler will reach here in slow motion Ross tempt some of the reptiles into striking at his boot even the slow motion camera though can't take all the speed out of a fast moving rattlesnake's action rattlesnake milking or Venom extraction is one of the unusual demonstrations given every hour at the reptile Institute the lecturer secures a firm hold on the snake before placing its fangs on the receptacle used to catch the Venom all the Venom collected at Ross Allen reptile Institute is sold to Laboratory where it is used for research and for the manure of antivenin used in the treatment of snake fight a visit to Ross Allen reptile Institute at Florida Silver Springs is an exciting Adventure that can be enjoyed from the safe side of protective enclosures while Ross Allen and his staff provide added thrills as they move expertly about among the deadly exhibits visitors to Ross Allen reptile Institute at Florida Silver Spring may also enjoy several other attractions at this fabulous Central Florida Resort on State Highway 40 the exciting jungle creu speedboat ride is a 5em trip along the Silver River through dense jungle growth and beautifully landscaped Banks climaxing the ride is a visit with a colony of wild monkeys introduced into the Florida jungle as an experiment many years ago the famous glass bottom boats of Florida's Silver Springs move up and down the Silver River circling the giant Springs and giving thousands of visitors the thrill of a lifetime as they look into the crystal clear depth beneath them schools of catfish and other varieties of marine life are seen as well as the remains of prehistoric mastadons Sunken Gardens and weird underwater [Music] phenomena Tommy Bar's International deer Ranch on the spacious grounds of the Springs features 150 tame animals from 18 foreign countries here visitors stroll about among Fleet footed creatures from all parts of the world feeding and petting them freely the attraction is unique among animal exhibits and is popular with children and grown-ups alike the world's largest combined collection of horsedrawn carriages and antique and classic cars turns back the hands of time for visitors to the carriage cavalcade and auto Fair of the spring cars powered by electricity Steam and several varieties of gasoline engines are on display in this fascinating exhibit all of them restored to perfect running condition the Prince of Peace Memorial is one of the newest attractions at the spring the series of beautifully handcarved scenes in three dimensions and natural color representing the life work of sculptor artist Paul Cunningham the The Life of Christ each of several scenes from the New Testament on display is housed in a uniquely attractive Chapel with special lighting effects and appropriate music and when you've seen all these things at Florida's Silver Springs there is still a bathing Beach to be visited for a refreshing dip in the wonderfully Clear Water the pure white sand beach dotted with Shady palm trees and the year round 72 degree temperature of the Springfed water F an ideal place for the whole family to enjoy an out and you never know when you'll find a movie crew at work here filming underwater scenes or a colorful water ballet troop rehearsing for a performance yes Ross Allen reptile Institute and all the other attractions at Florida Silver Springs provide an exciting and unusual place to spend a holiday as you have seen on guided tour [Music] the