WILDSVILLE, La. &045; As if seeking the limelight, the little starlets poked their heads out from under their hiding place and tumbled gracelessly to the table &045; all in view of the camera’s lens.

Not exactly a spectacular Hollywood debut, but for the hatchlings at Concordia Turtle Farm, it would do just fine.

The 35-year-old farm was in the spotlight this weekend as a crew from the Outdoor Life channel show &uot;Killer Instinct&uot; filmed a documentary about the farm, which touts itself as the world’s largest commercial turtle farm in the world.

Owner Jesse Evans runs the farm with his son, Davey, and their wives, Avis and Shirby.

Jesse has been around turtles his entire life &045; digging around in ditches &uot;before I got big enough for a boat,&uot; he said.

Perhaps that’s why he could relate to TV host Rob Bredl &045; known as the Barefoot Bushman for obvious reasons.

&uot;I’ve been around animals all my life,&uot; said Bredl, his voice thick with the accent of a man who grew up in Australia and spent 10 years among aboriginals in the bush.

Bredl and his crew shot scenes around the farm, at the ponds where thousands of turtles live and lay their eggs, in the fields beyond the facility and in the incubating rooms. That’s where some of the baby turtles, newly hatched in their plastic tubs, tried to escape into the glare of the camera.

The crew has been in America for four weeks, filming alligators in Florida and rattlesnakes in Arizona. They learned about the turtle farm from its Web site.

Bredl, who also runs a wildlife park in Queensland, said the documentary will focus on the history of the turtle industry in Louisiana and the process the Concordia farm uses &045; one which virtually eradicates salmonella from the turtles.

Along the way, he’s practically wrestled with a 107-pound alligator snapping turtle and found some snakes out in the fields.

For Bredl, what is important about the Evanses’ work is not only the economics of running such a large operation but the research to take care of the turtles.

&uot;If we want to look after animals, we’ve got to do this stuff,&uot; he said, referring to the care the farm takes in harvesting the eggs, cleaning and medicating them, and incubating them.

&uot;None of the turtles here will ever become extinct.&uot;

The turtles produced at Concordia Farms can be shipped around the world &045; but they can’t be sold in the United States. Problems in the past with salmonella poisoning halted the trade, but the Evanses use a method developed at Louisiana State University to produce disease-free animals, said Roy Farmer, a computer expert who has developed the farm’s Web site.

The farm hopes the progress made in treating the eggs and the turtles will convince regulators to allow sales in the U.S. soon, Farmer said.

Still, it doesn’t seem to be hurting the farm at all. In fact, the Evanses have plans to add a visitor’s center and a public tour to their facilities so that people can see how the turtles are raised and their eggs are hatched.

Jesse Evans is certain people will want to tour the farm &045; he already gets curious visitors often.

&uot;The kids enjoy it more than anything,&uot; he said.

Next year, though, Jesse will turn the farm over to his son Davey. He doesn’t expect that will keep him from working, though.

&uot;As long as I feel like it, I’ll help him,&uot; he said.