Pat’s Wildways: Training crocodiles

It’s not every day that you see someone training a crocodile, not even for me. I’ve seen lots of animals being trained, what with my marriage to a marine mammal trainer, but I never expected to see these procedures adapted for crocodiles. Every trip we make to Placencia, Belize is full of surprises, and this was certainly one of them.

On one of our last days in Placencia this time, I was delighted to get a message from Marisa Tellez, Executive Director of the Crocodile Research Coalition (CRC), “Tomorrow we head to our facility for basic husbandry. Do you want to come along?” Of course!

And what an experience it was! Marisa, her daughter Maya, two fellow members of the Next Gen Croc kids, and I traveled by boat through the intact and pristine mangrove forests to the other side of the Placencia Lagoon, where CRC keeps a collection of Morelet’s and American crocodiles that cannot be released to the wild due to infirmities or dangerous behavior around people and pets. Twice a week, staff target-train these crocs so they can acclimate to human handling for veterinary care. For the most part, these majestic wild animals are habituated to their captive environment and readily take to training that rewards them with a meal of chicken parts or fish.

Each crocodile has a story to tell that highlights their status as “animal ambassadors.” Gilly is the largest of the bunch and, in fact, the second-largest Morelet’s crocodile in captivity; he was kept by wildlife film producers for decades, then eventually moved via the Belize Zoo to his permanent home with CRC. He is too acclimated to people to ever live in the wild, but he is relaxed in his large natural enclosure at the 25-acre CRC Nature Center and has taken well to the training.

He and the other crocs learn to respond appropriately to the words “target,” “stop,” and “water.” The idea is to have crocs waiting in the water for the trainer, then following a target to land, and stopping on command. When two trainers are present, one holds the target and rewards, the other pats and handles the croc’s tail to get it used to being touched and examined.

And then there is Auggie, a croc that was illegally kept in captivity as a tourism prop, held on ice to keep him passive and partially blinded as well. When Auggie arrived at CRC, he was malnourished and sickly, and understandably afraid of people. He hid in his large vegetated enclosure for months without appearing, and only relaxed his guard when CRC Next Gen kids spent time laughing and playing in his pen, and acclimating him to the sound of happy human voices, not torturers. Now Auggie waits for his keepers right at the gate, a total personality change. Auggie is named for the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, a substantial donor to CRC. In fact, Marisa will be there on Saturday, Oct. 3, as the keynote speaker at the CROCtober Fest.

There are others too, each with their own conservation story to tell. But the most notorious of all is Einstein, the only American alligator in the bunch. A few years ago, this croc moved into a pond on a farm bordering Monkey River, and, despite all the different traps attempted, he could not be captured. CRC was able to tag him, but nothing else. For years he was not spotted again.

But then dogs and cats started disappearing from the Maya Beach area about 20 miles away and a croc was seen eating a friend of mine’s neighbor’s dog. Einstein, so smart, was still impossible to trap, but one fateful night he was found trying to climb over a fence to get at a barking dog. Villagers all jumped in to finally subdue and capture him. Now at CRC, Einstein is still in the early stages of training. While I watched with the kids, Marisa gave him the commands, but he seemed more interested in attacking her than obeying. It was quite a show.

On closer examination, it seems Einstein is partially blind, a factor that might explain his diet of easy prey like pet dogs and cats. There is a theory that the water quality in Placencia Lagoon is a contributing factor to his ailments. Although the mangrove forests looked untarnished during the boat ride to the center, the water itself is contaminated by agricultural runoff, dredging and other sources.

And the crocodiles tell their stories.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com