Several of our lodges were along the banks of rivers in Kenya, particularly in the
Maasai Mara. Rivers are a great place to spot all kinds of animals that are coming down for a drink or waiting to prey on the thirsty and careless. Nile crocodiles fit neatly into the second category and we'd often see them posing as innocuous logs.
Being cold blooded they have to spend a portion of their day basking in the sun (and besides eating they have a pretty open schedule) so we'd often see them on the banks of the river as well, but usually at a fair distance. If you only saw them in the distance it would be easy to forget how terrifying and primeval they are.
To cure anyone of that notion, the lodge in
Samburu put out a crocodile bait most evenings made up of kitchen scraps which the resident crocs know about and show up for like clockwork. They move very slowly and take a half hour or more to go from the water to the bait, but once they get near and start eating its an easy reminder that they are not to be trifled with.
Being cold blooded they have to spend a portion of their day basking in the sun (and besides eating they have a pretty open schedule) so we'd often see them on the banks of the river as well, but usually at a fair distance. If you only saw them in the distance it would be easy to forget how terrifying and primeval they are.
To cure anyone of that notion, the lodge in Samburu put out a crocodile bait most evenings made up of kitchen scraps which the resident crocs know about and show up for like clockwork. They move very slowly and take a half hour or more to go from the water to the bait, but once they get near and start eating its an easy reminder that they are not to be trifled with.
No comments:
Post a Comment