eggscellent

‘You wouldn’t expect alligators to have massive maternal instincts, but they do.

The mother is incredibly protective of the egg and holds them ever so gently in her mouth. When the babies were ready to hatch, they started chirping inside the egg, so were communicating before they even hatched. i found it really moving.

‘reptile eggs are generally soft, not like birds’ eggs, so when their snouts were sticking out, i helped them out by gently squeezing what felt like a weird, rubbery ping-pong ball until out plopped a baby!

‘You won’t believe that animal fitted into that egg when you see it unfold. it’s like a Houdini trick!’