Article: Farmers search the wild for gator eggs: Eggs fetch $10 each and will be raised for hide and meat.

Byline: Kevin Spear

Jul. 11--ON LAKE JESUP

Stealing an entire clutch of eggs from an alligator's nest is a bizarre experience on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.

It's an obscure slice of Florida, in which a band of thieves spends the three hottest weeks of the year harvesting tens of thousands of soon-to-be-born reptiles from dozens of lakes. And it's all done with state approval and oversight.

About 30 gator farmers in Florida depend on wild eggs and pay about $10 for each, a fee that includes $5 for the state and the rest for collection expenses. The farmers do it because their captive gators aren't as fertile and ...

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