National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Friday, September 5, 2008

Photo: U.S. Alligator Meat, Skin Prices Rise After Hurricanes, Drought


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An American alligator sits partially submerged in duckweed-covered water in Lake Martin, Louisiana.

Last year two hurricanes and a drought ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast and damaged one of the region's more unusual ventures, the alligator-farming industry. Higher salinity in Louisiana marshes—the result of storms pushing ocean water inland—has reduced the alligator harvest by almost 50 percent, farmers say.

Photograph by John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk/Contributor/National Geographic/Getty Images