Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
Jacob Sagrera checks an alligator skin for marks and rates it to help a tannery use it for making luxury items.
Advocates say alligator farming has helped preserve a species often seen as scary or good only for their skins.
American alligators were once at risk of being hunted to extinction and were added to the Endangered Species List many years ago. Scientists in the US state of Louisiana had an idea to increase their numbers: farmers would raise alligators to sell their meat and skins and release some back into the wild.
Now, Louisiana has about 400,000 farmed alligators every year, and American alligators are a species of “Least Concern”.
Some animal rights advocates question the ethics of raising alligators on farms and worry that the demand for skins can fuel poaching.
