MEET SAVANNAH
Savannah Boan is one of Florida’s most passionate and influential voices for the protection of alligators, crocodiles and Florida wildlife, and a leading crocodilian advocate within the global wildlife conservation community.
Savannah is the Crocodilian Enrichment Coordinator at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida – “The Alligator Capital of the World” – a 125-acre theme park, wildlife preserve, and the leader in alligator safety and education since 1949, drawing millions of visitors across the world annually and home to more than 2,500 alligators and crocodiles. She is the International Ambassador for Gatorland Global, created in 2018 as Gatorland’s conservation arm. A fun-loving, fearless, platinum blonde force-to-be-reckoned-with, she is the foremost female at the park who is hands-on with some of the biggest reptiles on the planet.
Born and raised in the small town of Cheraw, South Carolina and a United States Marine Corp veteran, Savannah has always had an abiding passion for alligators and crocodiles. She is a member of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group, a TED TALK alumnus (“Crocodile Conversations & Alligator Gossip”), and a champion for Florida wildlife and conservation with worldwide following. In addition to Gatorland, she brings more than 25 years of entertainment experience, including her popularity as a long-time radio personality on the #1 rated Orlando talk show “The Monsters in the Morning” on iHeartRadio’s Real Radio 104.1.
With millions of followers and dedicated fans across all social media stages, Savannah uses her influence and “Queen of Gators” celebrity and platform to spotlight these reptiles’ incredible behavior, anatomy, and ecology, and help change negative perceptions of alligators and crocodiles as creatures to be feared and reviled. Through groundbreaking storytelling on Gatorland’s social media, her goal is to inspire respect for gators and crocs and the world in which they live. During the pandemic, Savannah served as co-host of the innovative “School of Croc,” a daily Facebook Live program that entertained and educated millions of children and families about the unique qualities of Gatorland’s incredible animals.
Savannah has traveled the world lending her extensive knowledge and expertise with other alligator and crocodile conservation advocacy groups and organizations. Through her leadership with Gatorland Global, her conservation work is impacting endangered crocodiles in many countries including Cuba, Australia, South Africa, and Jamaica. Early in her career, she worked at a reptile zoo in Orange County, California, where she appeared on “The Tonight Show” and “Good Day L.A.” with a world record 24-foot reticulated python and other gigantic reptiles. She has been featured in numerous other media outlets, including The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Magazine, The Miami Herald, Southern Living, Orlando Weekly, WKMG-TV, FOX NEWS, The Daily Mail, CNN (with Jeanne Moos), The Washington Post, and "The Drew Barrymore Show."
Savannah shares her love and excitement for alligators and crocodiles every day, whether at Gatorland, during her travels to other countries for conservation, through her appearances on iHeartRadio, and to millions of followers on social media. She is showing the world the wondrous, magical, fascinating side of these mysterious creatures that they never knew, but need to know. Savannah lives in Orlando, Florida, where she has a pet black-throated monitor named Pork Chop and an alligator sidekick named Jaws.