As was mentioned a few months ago, the next step after the reptile farm would be to go out for a crocodile counting and capturing sortie.
The outing starts in the afternoon at the reptile centre where Luc explains all about the crocodiles that can be found in Gambia. There are three kinds, one of which we’ve already come across – The most common one that I called Nile crocodile (c.niloticus) but who has been reclassified as its own species five months ago: West African crocodiles, Crocodylus suchus. It’s the most common one and the one that we will see and handle. It can be recognised by its non-protuberant eyes and its excellently soft skin, prized for its use in the leather trade as opposed to other crocs. A distinctive sign is its 4-4-2 scale formation on its nape, that is, plates that form a carapace on its nape (top-right). Not sure if we would close enough in the wild to make this distinction though!
We also find the dwarf croc Osteolaemus tetrapis (1.5 metres approx.) though these are rare and had even been thought to have disappeared. It’s more compact, has a shorter snout, black eyes and its scales on its nape are arranged two by two. To find water, it can walk for days on end to find a pool. It’s a predator which feeds on vertebrates, though also on crustaceans.
The third species is the Crocodylus (or Mecistops) catphractus, more commonly known as the African slender-snouted crocodile. It can reach 5 metres in length and varies in colour, though the young ones have a stripped snout. Its tail is proportionally longer than the average for crocodiles. The dwarf and slender-snout tend to live in stagnant fresh-water environments. It has a long snout which allows it to catch, fish, snakes, amphibians, and crustaceans.
After the theory lesson, we moved onto the practical one… just in case. Luc caught a young croc, tied its snout, and placed it back in the basin. Then it was our go to try and catch it (bottom-middle & bottom-right) nimbly and whilst making sure that we didn’t hurt it, or indeed that it didn’t hurt us or escaped. Even a small croc like that had a lot of vigour; in particular for the first amateur wranglers because it soon got tired and lost energy. It was very entertaining! Luc always uses a small croc. When it becomes too big, he releases it back into the wild and finds another.
Whilst we were at the centre, a Gambian brought a chameleon (albeit not the most active one I’ve seen). It was dark (top-left) which Luc explained was because it was stressed. And my one the other day seemed yellow? Also a type of stress but not the same. This one seemed totally ‘flacid’ and dehydrated and Luc put him on a tree. In but a few minutes he went back to his usual bright-green self (bottom-left), though was hanging from its tail so Luc had to reposition it elsewhere and ‘freshen it up’ a bit.
Every time that a Gambian brings him an animal, Luc gives him a small note to encourage and raise awareness among locals to not massacring snakes and to save animals. They sick ones, or the ones that are just about ok, stay for a while in the ‘farm’, help instruct the visitors, and then are released in their natural habitat.
At about 16h15, we left by car to the South of Kartong and the Allaheim river, which makes up the border between Gambia and Senegal. Of course, you must always have your papers with you as there are road-blocks in Gambia as well as immigration close to the borders. The journey upriver will be made in a boat made of a single piece of wood. Smaller, but much more stable than the swaying pirogue that we had to go to Kunta Kinteh. The only rapid and cheap crossing method for many, it can transport many things such as bags of rice, a mattress or bikes!
Luc’s wife, Maritou (top, middle) was with us as she’s the most experienced at spotting crocodiles. Actually, we won’t be catching any, but it wasn’t really planned in this zone seeing as they are regularly in the mangrove that we can’t approach with the pirogue. A relief.
We navigated the river for two hours and were in awe of the spectacle of fauna before us. Next came the dinner break in a huge ‘salt-marsh’. Everyone grabbed a bag, a cooler and went to fetch some wood; then we ate Maritou’s excellent cooking. We had planned ahead and worn long-sleeved trousers and shirts though to our great surprise, there wasn’t a single mosquito that bothered these moments of pleasure. Once night had fallen, it was time to go back into the pitch-black water. We had torches and the aim was to spot two “green lights.” It turns out that crocodiles have a layer behind the retina that acts like a mirror and reflects light. Did we see any? Well, maybe, but we’re not 100% sure so let’s just say yes, at least from my point of view. On the fifteen or so potential views in the past, I thought I saw two pairs of eyes. Luc spotted something on 4 or 5 occasions. He also said that the salinity was too high. Crocodiles are a softwater species who can normally subsist in salted water thanks to glands at the base of their tongue that extract the salt. However, if the salinity is too high, they tend to go further upstream.
All along the river, be it on the Gambian or Senegalese side, there’s mangrove on which were attached oysters. Nearer the month of June, they are large enough to be harvested; a job which is generally carried out by women who unlatch bunches of oysters and then sort through and open them in zones similar to where we had our dinner break. Normally, they make a fire to cook or to dry them (depending on the wanted usage). There was kilometre after kilometre of these!
We saw a sand fiddler crab (top-left), a marsh mongoose (middle-left), some baboons in the distance but also an incredible variety of birds such as the cormorant (top-right), osprey (middle-right), herons (bottom-right), pelicans, and also kingfishers. We got more than an eye-full! ... as did the camera’s memory-card so watch this space …
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