Gators craving opossum, elk and armadillo meat got their fix Saturday night at this year’s Beast Feast.
In lines that backed up to the edge of the property, people patiently waited to sample items like opossum stew and mealworm cupcakes.
For $15, UF students and Gainesville-area residents feasted on about 30 species of wild game at the annual buffet-style dinner held at the Whitehurst Lodge in Archer.
“Beast Feast is … a way for people to try something that they have never tried before,” said Adam Duggan, a member of the UF Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society, which organized the event. “We have a lot of boar, deer, red deer, trout … all kinds of game animals that, on an average day, you would never get to try.”
Eshe Lewis, a UF anthropology second-year graduate student, said the venison and eggs was her favorite item in the buffet this year.
She also sampled the popular cricket brownies present at the dessert table.
“They taste pretty regular,” she said. “I think that it’s just in your head …You’re waiting for the bugs, but you can’t really taste them.”
In addition to its spread of wild game, this year’s feast featured live music, wildlife exhibits and raffles. Visitors could peruse displays of animal skulls and taxidermy and hold a 6-foot live snake.
Duggan, a 26-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation senior, said the feast is an annual tradition with a 30-year history. He said the event encourages people to hunt and eat invasive species like feral hogs, muscovy ducks and lizards, which can create problems in Florida’s wildlife if the populations aren’t controlled.
Duggan said most of the feast’s food was donated from private ranches, cooperative units and even club members.
“I personally cooked boar myself tonight,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/17/2014 under the headline "Gators sample creepy-crawlies, wild game at Beast Feast"]
People line up for a buffet of wild game at the 31st Annual Beast Feast on Saturday. The event, with dishes such as pheasant, boar and venison, benefited the UF Wildlife Society.
