Saturday, February 2, 2013

Jamaica's Crocodile Dundee

For years I have been hearing about Charles Swaby. He is quite a legend  in St. Elizabeth  (and probably the rest of Jamaica) although when St. Elizabethians  sing his praises, we usually dilute them with the regret that he is really not from the parish but neighbouring Manchester!

 I got the opportunity to meet him yesterday at his Black River safari locale by the bridge, where  he ,was yesterday a guest at NEPA's (our environmental agency) publicly aired programme to celebrate International Wetleands day and I did the outside broadcast for Power 106.

He was actually much younger than I expected because for the number of years I had been hearing about him I figured he had to be close to 90,  but he looked just over 70 and replied to my surprise by telling me he has been interacting with  crocs since he was 12 years old. Can you imagine the trauma a mother went through seeing her son messing around with crocodiles at 12? Man I would have had a heart attack.

Apart from expecting him to be older, I expected to see someone with lots of scars caused by crocodile attacks but during the interview he told me he had never been bitten and only got one scratch on his hand over the years.

What is amazing too is the fact that he started out as a crocodile hunter and developed into the one person who has done more to preserve our fiercest wild animals over the years, nursing some back to health , operating a hatchery to increase the number for his safari (and for others who also run safaris down the Black River)  and going all over the island to bring in crocodiles found elsewhere that  are in danger of being killed by humans.

It is no wonder his Black River safari is Jamaica's best attraction. I have done it several times and would not hesitate to do it over and over again for while I don't like croaking lizards, I am fascinated with crocodiles  And apart from the crocs, the safari gives one a sense of peace and tranquility as you go down the huge river and watch the myriad of birds nesting and enjoying themselves knowing that they are safe from human predators.

Although I have been fascinated by crocs, I am deathly scared of them but according to Mr  Swaby, in his many years of gathering data, more people have been killed by cows, dogs and even pigs in Jamaica than crocs

 That's a comforting  piece of information but I think I will still continue to admire them from a distance~!

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