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Fun with crocodilians
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Mike, Corp. Johnson and an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).
A few days ago my friend Rick, who owns and operates the Catoctin Mountain Zoo in Thurmont, MD, called me to ask a favor. He asked me if I could help the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) police get some animals from the basement of a townhome. The Zoo is closed during the winter months so they are short staffed and he couldn’t make the trip to Baltimore himself.
I asked what animals were involved and he told me they were two caimans (Caiman crocodilus). The owner of the townhome had been arrested a few days earlier and when the police came in the house they found the caimans. Alligators and crocodiles have been illegal for many years.
I told Rick that I really wasn’t equipped to take anything aquatic right now into our reptile rescue, but that I could transport the animals up to his zoo. Crocodilians can be a little tricky, but I was told they were only two feet long. Then I spoke to Corp. Mack Shulte, from the DNR police. He told me the caimans were five feet long. That’s a little more challenging! I was starting to rethink my decision to help.
I made arrangements with Corp. Shulte to meet at a state police barracks. I took Mike, one of my volunteers, and we loaded up my car with a long snake hook, a grabber, siphon and bucket, two large plastic containers (for transporting the caimans), electrical tape (to tape their mouths), duct tape (to tape the containers), welding gloves and, of course, my camera! Corp. Shulte, Corp. Johnson (another DNR police), Mike and I formed a convoy and drove to the townhouse. It was funny being flanked by a DNR police car in front of me and behind me, but I always do love having a posse.
We got to the townhouse and descended the stairs to find a very large plastic pond insert that people typically use for outdoor fish ponds. It was colder than it should be (which worked to our advantage), but it was an acceptable habitat for animals the size they were. We saw one caiman, about four feet long, sunning himself under a light on the wooden (dirt covered) deck. The entire thing was covered with chicken wire.
First we removed the chicken wire. Crocodilians are in their element in water, so it is always best to deal with them out of the water. The DNR police put a noose around the front end of the caiman and another guy used my grabber to get his back end. The caiman thrashed and waved his tail (a weapon in itself) at us. Mike and I were both choking from the dust as dirt went flying through the air. I’ll admit it, the caiman (photo below) won that round.
Once the police re-established their hold on the animal, Mike just reached in and pinched the caiman’s mouth shut with his fingers. They have incredible crushing power with their mouths, but it only works one way. They have great strength closing their mouths. However, once the mouth is shut, it is easy to keep it that way. We made quick work of wrapping it with the electrical tape and putting the animal in the plastic container before he could cause any trouble.
The second animal was more challenging because it was hiding under the deck and under the water. We used a snake hook to pull it out and get a look at it. Somehow this group of four people, two of which were not comfortable with crocodilians, worked as a team and in about 30 seconds we had the second animal in the other container. The second animal was an American alligator, also about four feet. Alligators are generally better natured than caimans.
We took the animals up to the zoo where they will have a great new home. The moral of the story is that you should always be sure that your pets are legal. You never know who is going to come in your house and discover your illegal pets. The people also had other animals, mammals and reptiles, that were NOT illegal, so they were not taken from the home.
One DNR police told Mike and me that they thought we had exciting jobs. We both said, “This isn’t our job!” We just do this because we love the animals.
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