BELIZEAN CROCODILE!
Pulling up my golf cart near a lake that housed the Belizean crocodile during a serene ride around La Isla Bonita in Belize, this one had no fear and came at me like the true predator it is in San Pedro Ambergris Caye some years ago.
Though the Belizean crocodile appears to be a protected wild life by the Belize Audubon Society, it faces serious threats to exist unharmed today in its natural habitat with the pollution of the Belize rivers through rapid private development. News of some found dead floating in the rivers across Belize raises some serious concerns for this beautiful and graceful creature that inhabits the Belizean mangrove along its many beautiful cayes, coastal regions, and once pristine waterways.
Tourists from all over the world flocked to Belize to see this beautiful animal in its jungle setting as well as Belizeans like myself who are tourists in their own country. Gradually driving the cart gingerly next to the still waters of the lake to satisfy my curiosity, it had appeared at first that nothing was under there. And then as my hands hit the water with my bare palms making a splashing sound, it began to emerge from the deep, peeping just its eyes up like a pair of binoculars from a far distance in the lake.
Then seeing me, it projected more of its body up and out in plain view for me to see its presence, establishing its territorial dominance that this place is its domain. Sending its warning signal of visibility that trespassers will be persecuted, it sped up towards me thinking too that my presence in disturbing its solitary confinement also meant feeding time for some reason. The villagers on the island said that people feed them with chickens and so on. Why do Belizean authorities allow people to feed these animals? It is absolutely a threat to the wildlife of the reptile.
A relative of mine in Belize told me some years ago that it’s the reason why crocodiles come and eat people’s dogs; people who build their homes near the rivers of Belize because riverside properties are popular because of being near the water. He said that once people start feeding the croc, it’s a disturbance to the natural habitat of the animal and it will come back again and again. So if there is no expected food, it will, like any wild animal, prey on people’s pets, no matter if it’s a pit bull or a Rottweiler dog.
Some youths told me that crocodiles bark like dogs to call their prey to its doom. My seaman cousin also mentioned that the crocs would also begin to attack humans and endanger the lives of children if its appetite is not fed. Some years ago Belizean children bathing in rivers were drowned and then killed by crocodiles across the country.
Being a seaman for years and now entering his old age, my cousin shared that once upon a time in Belize when the mangroves served as food storage for species like the croc, and were not massively cleared for housing and resorts, the secluded and spiritual animal would care less if you were next to it. He mentioned that he would be fishing in lagoons in the mangrove right next to them sunning their bodies on the banks of the river. It was safe, he explained, because the animal preyed on other animals for food, because there was so much food in the mangrove jungle for its survival. But now with the gradual destruction and clearing of the once pristine mangroves for luxurious housing, factories for private investment, and tourism, the habitat of the Belizean crocodile has been threatened.
It has now become an “Endangered Specie”.