Lunch with crocodiles?

Current location: Tilapia fish farm, Cañas, Costa Rica

Have you ever had lunch inside of a crocodile cage? I have. By the entrance there is a clear sign indicating that entry is prohibited for all not professionally trained. Clearly I must be professionally trained, since I am eating my lunch only a few meters from 40 something crocodiles. They are terrified of us at this point, because we have been dragging them up one by one from their little pond – that we emptied from water. They have nowhere to go and keep getting more and more anxious and angry because of the heat. I was working with a guy named Blas. He has been working with crocodiles for over twenty years, so I feel safe in his company. As long as I listen to his directions I should be fine. “Linda, look at that crocodile” he says and points to a two and a half meter long crocodile close to us. “It is ready to attack us. Look at the position of the feet. If we go closer it will attack. Now look at the one next to it, see the feet? It will not attack, it will run” Blas says. He takes his wooden stick and goes closer to the crocodile ready to attack. It launches forward, slams close it’s jaws trying to bite the stick, and makes a hissing noise. Blas starts to hit the crocodile between the eyes with the stick. Eventually it gets tired of being harassed and runs of to the center of the dry pond. “You have to move other crocodiles so that they don’t creep up behind you when you’re working” he explains. After having caught, tagged and measured a dozen crocodiles we drove off to Palo Verde national park to release them. The release is the most critical step of the process. This to me seems to be the time when things can go wrong. One can never know where the crocodile will run when it is released, and it is important to not stand in the way. Many crocodiles are at this point so pissed off that freedom is not what they want. They want revenge, and try to attack you. Luckily for us, throwing plastic tubes at them is an excellent way of letting them know that the water really is the best place for them and that they won’t be biting anyone today. After having gotten up at 4 am and worked hard in the sun all day I was so happy when the last crocodile was released.

#crocodiles #masterthesis #stockholmuniversity #mfs #costarica #eckardtadventures #studentlife