Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Dieter.
Chris, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Crocodile Encounter started as an educational company when I was a teacher at Angleton. In some ways, it was never intended to be as large as it has become as I started doing educational wildlife shows simply as a way to meet my animals feed bill on a teacher’s salary. Because I was a teacher I knew what worked well for student learning and what resonated with young people’s attention spans and built a show around what worked in the science classroom for me. As the show schedule began to fill and our show animals got larger we needed a location that could house the retired animals. We settled on a property just off 288 near Angleton with easy access to Houston as we knew most of our business growth would come from north of us. The property was flat and an old rice field so it held water very well. We started with the concept of giving the animals as much space as possible and creating a unique guided interactive experience for our guests keeping all the educational aspects but on a much grander scale. The general concept is that our crocodilians essentially live as wild animals who come to feeding stations when they are hungry. The concept has worked very well not just from a visitor/business standpoint but biologically. We have become involved with numerous conservation projects and SSP’s (Species survival plan). Our Nile crocodile group is the largest in the nation. Over the last 5 or so years we are gradually morphing into an attraction while maintaining our educational roots. We have visitors daily from around the nation and the globe. What is perhaps most unique about Crocodile Encounter is that many of our employees are former students that have literally grown up with Crocodile Encounter and become outstanding animal educators/keepers. It is truly the story of a teacher and his students.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Anytime you deal with live animals especially in a large outdoor setting there are plenty of learning curves. No one in the nation has kept this large a group of tropical crocodile’s outdoors year round so we had plenty of adventures ensuring their safety and wellbeing even during our typically mild Houston winters. As our species number increased and we added more sensitive species we have been able to apply what we have learned and make success a little easier- but not without its challenges.
Please tell us about Crocodile Encounter.
We are the largest public crocodile facility in the nation. We do well over 1000 educational presentations annually which can include library shows, school assemblies, scout groups, and many birthday parties. We host birthday parties at our park and do mobile shows to your location. We are nationally known for our Nile crocodile group which has 100+ animals in the group and is led by 5 males which allows us to keep track of our bloodlines. We are most proud of our animal care and essentially the ‘partnership’ we have with our animals. We have never deviated from their care and their welfare is our #1 priority. The business started as a concept to make people appreciate wildlife and we have been able to hold to on and actually increase the scale of what we can provide our animals. The scale of our enclosures and the guided aspect of our tours, along with the structure of our mobile shows, set us in a very different spot than other groups in our niche. Our guides are dedicated and enthusiastic presenters that work with animals daily. We are constantly expanding the park and increasing visitor experience. No visit is ever the same!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over and had even a small inkling of what we would become 15 years ago it would have been a little easier to create a little different layout in some areas of the park but it’s a minor thought and it’s possible I wouldn’t change a thing. Our growth has an organic feel to it and I’m ok with that aspect.
Pricing:
- $13.50 for adults
- $9.50 for children
Contact Info:
- Address: Crocodile Encounter
23231 CR 48
Angleton, TX 77515 - Website: www.crocodileencounter.com
- Phone: 281.595.2232
- Email: crocodileencounter@gmail.com
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