How to find a crocodile nest

Current location:

SINAC station Palo Verde National Park, Guanacaste N10°20’52’’ W85°21’10’’

The best advice I can give future students is to trust your gut when it tells you to completely disobey direct instructions from your advisors. Sometimes being ballsy pays off. We went back to the place we have visited a bunch of times before with hopes of finding something new. For the first time we arrived to the area during low tide, and as we approached we saw five crocodiles slipping into the water from a small sand bank. It was the sand bank in front of the area that we suspected to have crocodile nests. The last couple of times that we went to this place about a week ago there was only one crocodile – now there were four, and all of them peeked up from the water in a curious manner. Normally you see a crocodile go into the water and then you won’t see it for an hour or two for as long as you are in the area. These crocodiles never dove down – they kept watching us. It had to mean something. I was sure of it. Being that it was low tide climbing up on the river edge is harder than one could expect. The mud is slippery and treacherous and will suck you stuck if you step on it. With so many large curious crocodiles in the water, neither Ludvig nor me wanted to risk anything by climbing onto land. A tree served as a perfect ladder, and we did not fall down in the mud. We arrived to the area where Ludvig had left temperature loggers in old nests, only to find that there were holes everywhere. Literally everywhere, and his loggers were spread out around the area. Most probably the iguanas were to blame as they also are digging holes for nesting right about now. We looked around the area and concluded that there were too many small holes around for there to be any crocodile holes. Ludvig started looking for his loggers and walked off determined to find a nest. It didn’t make any sense – why would female crocodiles be guarding the area if there wasn’t anything to guard. I came up with a plan. I would find the entries of the crocodiles onto land (They are heavy animals that can’t fly and thus leave traces on the ground). I found an entry that we previously hadn’t paid too much attention too. Since it was low tide the tracks on the mud bank were clearly visible. A large crocodile had been lying there, and it had stayed put right in front of the entrance. All around were more iguana holes. There was one area that didn’t have any holes, vegetation or disturbed ground. I started digging. The dirt was porous and light to dig through. After about 3 decimeter I started to get doubts about whether it was worth to keep digging. I put my foot in the hole that I had dug and put some pressure on it. Jackpot. A small dirt-cave opened up and inside I could see something white. We had found our first crocodile nest.

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