Crocodiles et al

Yesterday I attended a vet workshop held at National Zoological Gardens in Colombo.  It was held in conjunction with the Crocodile Specialist Meeting (CSG) being held just outside of Colombo in Negombo.

I was asked to light the traditional lamp as a representative of the delegates.  Also asked were the director of the zoo, chief organiser of the CSG meeting, director of Madras Croc Bank, the 2 vets presenting the workshop etc.  I felt very special!  Me, of all the people attending, probably the least experienced and least known.  It sure is all about who you know…

The traditional lamp

After a presentation by a Brazilian vet, we had lunch then I sneaked out and explored the zoo.

A big cat snoozing - just like a small cat

Lots of animals and some in less then suitable enclosures, but in general (and considering we're in South East Asia) this zoo is amazing.  It is a lush and well cared for piece of land right in the middle of a big city.  Several of the exhibits were well above expected standards and some western zoo's could learn a thing or two from here I am sure.

And a small cat thinking it's a big cat...

Sri Lanka! CROCODILES!!!

I made it to Sri Lanka after a 3am start from the Croc Bank with Colin and Gowri.  We were clearly over tired and a bit excited as the giggles and tears of laughter didn't stop for several hours.  Just ask Colin about the emergency exit sign…

We landed in Colombo - what a huge difference to Chennai!  I couldn't believe we were so close, yet Colombo is green and lush, lots of palms and other tropical greenery.  Beautiful!

On the way from the airport, we stopped at McDonalds (a rare occasion for me and usually with lots of trepidation as they don't treat us veggies with much respect there).  I had seen a McD's menu in Chennai and it had several burgers that could be ordered as veg option, but when I arrived in this one, there was only one option.  My heart sank as I hoped it would be as veg friendly as India.

I ordered 'the' veg burger and off we set while chomping our food.  I was surprised beyond belief.  This burger looked better then picture on the menu and tasted amazing!  The patty was crispy and tasty, the bun had substance  - impressed to the extreme!  I've been dreaming of McD's ever since!  But don't worry it won't last long.

The World Crocodile Conference starts today with a steering committee meeting.  But more importantly, we just had lunch.  Lunch was divine, I had a plate of salads that made me feel a little bit healthy again.  My favourite was the pineapple with chilli.  YUM!

Off to the afternoon session now.

One very silly, but lucky, dog!

The other night I was walking back to the canteen from the library and I saw some monkeys on the wall around a croc enclosure.  The dogs were barking at them (as they always do) and I didn't really think much of it.

As I got closer, I realised the monkeys had run off and climbed the trees that are in this particular enclosure.  About 15-20 muggers live here and they are all quite big.  As the monkeys took off one of the dogs followed and leaped into the enclosure.  We called for him to come to the wall so we could try to drag him out.  The wall is about 3 feet high on our side, but about 6 feet high on the inside - easy to get in, but not so easy to get out.

The dog realised he'd made a silly move and was a bit hesitant about how to deal with it.  We noticed some crocs coming closer so we started to yell at the dog and someone tried to entice him over with some food.  Oddly food didn't help, the dog remained in one place.  The crocs getting more curious…

Suddenly one of the bigger crocs lunged forward and the dog took off.  I closed my eyes as I screamed as I was sure this was t
he end of the dog.  When I opened them again, the dog was running in another direction, skirting around crocs who had all been basking seconds earlier.

The dog was completely freaked out and somehow managed to get to the other side of the enclosure without being bitten.  Crocs were coming at him from every direction.  It was one of the most frightening things I've seen.

The lucky dog

One of the guys managed to find a big stick and leaped the wall, chased the crocs away and caught the dog.  He threw the dog at me and I grabbed him over the fence and the rescuer escaped as fast as he had entered.

That dog was a very lucky dog.  I have some extra grey hairs from the shock of it all but thank goodness everyone came out unscathed.  

Sunrise

This morning I got up early and went out to the beach front to see the sunrise.  The sun didn't exactly rise in it's usual ball of fury and bold beauty.  It more sort of limped quietly behind the clouds and did nothing more then light the world just as much as the world needed - no more, no less.  No need for fanfare this morning.

But in saying that, it was still lovely and I enjoyed my hour of sitting in the sand surrounded by crabs who discreetly sneaked in and out of their holes when they thought I was not looking.

A lone man walking towards me was searching for some sort of sea food.  I suspect cockles.  He dug every few metres and was filling his apron pocket.

A nice start to the day, although I did need to take a wee nap before breakfast.

Being in love

That feeling you get when you have fallen in love.  You can't eat, you can't sleep, your heart beats way too fast, you get palpitations just thinking about your love…

That is what it is like being here in India volunteering at a croc park.

I have fallen head over heals in love with the crocs (and a few turtles too).  I could stay here forever just to wake up each morning and peer over a wall to see a crocodile basking or swimming or eying up a meal…

I lie awake some nights and rerun my days activities.  I am shocked by some of the amazing things I get to do.  The other day I got inside the enclosure of a very big saltie while the pond was being drained and cleaned.  How often do you get up close and personal with such a giant creature?  He is huge and so powerful!

I have been babysitting a slightly deranged turtle who has no ability to stay on her feet.  Several times each day and night I have to turn her back after she has flipped onto her back.  Sadly, I hoped she would improve but that hasn't happened.  I think it is nearly the end of the road for Miss Uppsy Daisy…

Yesterday I helped feed 3 very big gharials!  Robin is nearing 6 metres and his girls Nancy and Julie are substantially smaller.  The girls get fish thrown in the water near their snout and they grab the fish and eat it.  While His Lordship Robin gets fish placed in his mouth on a stick!  Talk about spoilt!  He has the end of his upper snout missing as a result of a fight some time back so he deserves a little extra attention, but fish on a stick is quite a bit of extra attention!

Yesterday I had to find 10 large snails to feed the Blue Tongues skinks.  The day before I had helped find another 10 large snails and Aaranya had broken the shells and got the meat out of them while I looked on and squirmed whilst exclaiming an occasional '"Ewwww gross!!"  But yesterday I bravely found the snails alone and waited for Aaranya to arrive and break them open for me.  She was busy feeding crocs in the nursery so instead of waiting, I took to it myself.  Using the back of a meat cleaver, I bust my first snail and managed to take out the meat in a slightly kack-handed way.  I was up to about 6 when Aaranya arrived back.  She was very impressed that I had given up the EWWWW's and done it myself.  So was I!  I then took it over the Blueys and I hope they appreciate the effort I went to!  I won't find out until later today when I clean their tank out.  I hope for their sake that they have eaten them all…

I love it here, I love the variety of the things I do and I love the crocs (and some of the turtles).

Turtles and Tortoises!

While I've been helping out with the turtle hatching over the last week or so, I've had many opportunities to see things I wouldn't have imagined seeing before.  It amazes me how exceptionally strong and able these tiny creatures are the moment they are hatched.

The three we released yesterday

Yesterday, the Travencore hatched as already mentioned.  We give it water a couple of times a day and it drinks very happily.  It's yolk has nearly been absorbed and so his belly is not so swollen and soft.  It is a feisty wee thing - won't stay still for long and fights to be let go if picked up (to put in the water. etc).  I suspect this tortoise will go far!

The Travencore drinking water

You can still see the egg tooth on it's nose

Also while checking one of the batches of eggs, I saw a tiny movement so I investigated further.  An Indian Black turtle had just broken its shell.  So it now has a night in the cupboard to complete the hatch - hopefully before I get there in the morning!

The Indian Black turtle

Dang, blast and other nasty expletives...

I wrote a whole post the other day and it did it's usual 'save' every few minutes then something went wrong and the page disappeared and so did my just written blog…

So I said a few carefully chosen words and shut my computer down and went to bed.  Best thing to do in these situations.

I've bravely decided to try again,  although I have no idea what I was writing about last time.

I'm on turtle duty while the curator is away.  He has several turtle eggs incubating at different temperatures and my job is to check temperatures morning and evening, check for newly hatched turtles and ensure moisture and water levels are good.

We also have a few tortoise eggs as well and they don't need a lot of input, just the odd squirt of water to keep humidity up.

Today we released three turtle hatchlings into the gharial enclosure as these weren't ones from the temperature batches.  There are 2 more who will also be released in the coming days once they are deemed old and fit enough.

Dropping the hatchlings into the water...

Not quite quick enough as Robin the Gharial came
(very quickly and quietly) to see what was happening!

And the last one goes in

My big excitement today was the hatching of a Travencore tortoise.  I had checked the egg this morning and put it back in the cupboard where the temperature is constant.  This evening, I was thinking I didn't need to check it as it was fine earlier.  But I took it out anyway.  I looked in and saw the little thing had hatched!  So sweet, and still folded and crumpled from being in the egg.  I cannot believe how big the turtles and tortoises are when they come of the eggs - the egg never looks big enough!

So this little fellow is with us for a few days until his umbilical cord is healed and he is ready for the big world.

This gecko was all of about 2cm at most

I was cleaning around the office desk that I use most days and some of the papers and things haven't been moved for a very long time.  I shifted something and the tiniest of gecko's ran out of the pile so I caught it and had a good look at it.  It had little folds of skin on the back of it's neck so I assume it was not very old.  I took some photos then tried to place it near where it came from so it would hopefully find a safe place and some food.