'I'm a crocodile handler – men are too scared to date me because of my job'
A female crocodile handler thinks that men are too threatened by her career choice to date her - but she prefers reptiles anyway.
Savannah Boan, from Florida, USA, has been fascinated by these majestic creatures since her childhood so found it an obvious career path when she grew up.
But one knock-on effect she neglected to consider when choosing this line of work was on her love life - she thinks men are sometimes too threatened by her work and her being a strong woman.
However, Savannah says her job keeps her extremely busy with little time to date anyway.
Savannah says men are scared to date her due to her line of work (Jam Press/@savannahboan)For most people, a normal day might start with a cup of coffee when you get into the office, but for Savannah it starts with feeding a crocodile and taking care of their wellbeing.
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Savannah said: "I get into work early in the morning and check all the animals under my personal care – feeding, setting up nesting areas, general husbandry, enrichment activities for all the animals including huge alligators, saltwater crocodiles, American crocodiles and Cuban crocodiles."
As an ambassador for Gatorland Global Conservation, Savannah has to interact with some of the world's deadliest reptiles.
But she did not anticipate that this would have such an impact on her romantic life as some men push back when they hear what she does.
"My job affects my dating life in the way that I believe most people are afraid to date such a strong woman that works with prehistoric beasts on a daily basis," she said.
"Maybe they're afraid of me? Maybe they’re afraid of the animals I work with? Maybe they think I'm crazy? I’m not too sure. As far as potential partners go, I'm a super hard worker with no days off. Anyone I would ever be involved with would have to be a superhero just like me and that's kind of tough to find.
"But I'm sure there's one out there somewhere."
Savannah says the dating issues don't bother too much as she prefers her reptiles anyway and thinks they are easier to figure out.
She thinks reptiles are easier to figure out than humans (Jam Press/@savannahboan)
Savannah prefers hanging out with crocs than dating men (Jam Press/@savannahboan)Her job keeps her extremely busy with danger lurking round every corner.
"One day a lady dropped her phone into our main lake and we had to take a boat out to get it - she dropped it under a walkway," she recalled.
"We had to paddle the boat under the walkway into the darkness to try and retrieve the phone. As we were splashing in the water searching for the phone under the walkway we came face to face with a 13 foot alligator eye level with us. Luckily he was just as scared to see us there as we were to see him, I think we may have woken him up from a nap.
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She thinks her role is generally considered masculine (Jam Press/@savannahboan)
She gets some negative feedback from men online about her job (Jam Press/@savannahboan)"He turned and splashed us with a big swipe of his tail and we got out of there fast - we saved the phone though. Our alligators and crocodiles pretty much know us by sight and I know them all by name."
She feels her role is generally viewed as more masculine but notes that there are plenty of women who do what she does and she loves it.
"The internet is filled with men and women that think I'm ill equipped for my position because I'm female and because of my Southern accent," she said.
"I'm a Florida girl at heart though and I have always wanted to work for Gatorland. My family thinks my job is right in line with my personality."
While she loves every reptile she works with, there are favourites.
"The critically endangered Cuban crocodile is my favourite species, however at Gatorland we have a big boss croc named Ricardo," she said.
"My favourite alligator is my buddy named Jaws. Jaws loves to fight and he never wins but his determination and spunk is infectious."
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