Solwata Crocodile—King Bilong Olketa Reptile
FROM MAN WEA RAET FOR WEKAP! LONG PALAU
PLANTI taem pipol challengim rul bilong olketa island bilong Palau, long Pacific Ocean. Firstfala paoa wea rul ovarem olketa tropical island hia, wea stap 890 kilometer east bilong Philippines, hem nao Spain. Go-go, Germany hem changim Spain, and then Japan hem changim Germany. Bihaen Japan, United States hem tekova and rulim datfala ples go kasem 1994 taem datfala Republic bilong Palau kasem independence.
But, midolwan olketa challenge hia, narakaen rul long olketa island no savvy kasem challenge. Wanem nao datwan? Rul bilong solwata crocodile—king bilong olketa reptile long Palau. But, distaem rul bilong olketa crocodile hem no sef. Olketa wea duim research say “sapos olketa no stretawe protectim olketa wild solwata crocodile, kwiktaem nomoa olketa bae finis long Palau.”
Why nao olketa crocodile bilong Palau insaed trabel? And why nao pipol kolem olketa king bilong olketa reptile?
Mouth!
Barava nem bilong solwata crocodile hem nao Crocodylus porosus, wea meanim “wanfala crocodile wea fulap withim boela.”a Disfala nem join withim raf skin antap longfala nose bilong hem. Hem mekem tufala hae part kamap, from eye go kasem tufala nostril. Longfala nose hem garem shape olsem wanfala triangle and hem kamap big haf bilong full body. Wanfala crocodile wea stap long Museum long Palau, kasem 40 centimeter long barava waed part bilong bigfala hed bilong hem!
Taem wanfala crocodile openem bottom haf long mouth, iu lukim olketa sharp teeth wea stap insaed wanfala mouth wea hem savvy satem withim bigfala strong. Weak part bilong mouth hem nao olketa masol wea openem mouth. Wanfala buk talem hao wanfala rubber band hem fit for satem mouth bilong wanfala tu-meter crocodile.
Nambawan Design
Hed bilong crocodile hem big tumas and tu hem garem nambawan design for go insaed wata. Taem iu lukluk gud (maet long wanfala crocodile wea dae finis!), iu bae lukim way wea ear, eye, and nostril kamap olketa hae part long hed bilong hem. Olketa stap antap long wata taem crocodile hem float. But interesting samting, nomata disfala animal satem mouth, hem no savvy stopem wata for go insaed, from hem no garem lip for kavarem bon long mouth. But wata wea go insaed long mouth no savvy go long throat bikos wanfala valve blokim front bilong throat. And from hem breathim air thru long tufala nostril wea go insaed body bihaen disfala valve, disfala crocodile savvy breathe taem mouth bilong hem fulap withim wata.
Waswe for lukluk under long wata? No eni problem. Taem hem under long wata, disfala crocodile muvim wanfala kliafala skin, or mek-three eyelid, wea kavarem eye bilong hem. Disfala skin savvy protectim eye but long semtaem hem savvy lukluk.
Bigfala Size Fitim King
Solwata crocodile hem big winim eni narafala reptile long world. Taem olketa man crocodile kasem winim three meter, olketa mature nao but savvy go ahed for grow for planti year yet. Man wea raetem The Guinness Book of Animal Records, Mark Carwardine, hem say hao wanfala animal park long India garem wanfala man solwata crocodile wea long bilong hem kasem seven meter!
Hom bilong olketa crocodile hem big tumas tu. Sem report hem say moa hao area bilong solwata crocodile hem big winim eni narakaen crocodile. Olketa solwata crocodile stap long olketa tropical area bilong Asia and Pacific, wea start long India go kasem Australia and olketa island bilong Palau.
Change Kamap
Olketa mangrove swamp long olketa island bilong Palau provaedem olketa crocodile withim shade, protection, and staka kaikai. So iumi no sapraes why nao crocodile choosim olketa island bilong Palau for kamap wanfala ples for bornim pikinini and for stap long there. Tru nao, namba bilong olketa crocodile wea stap long olketa island hia long olketa year bilong 1960 maet 1,500 go kasem 5,000.
But, long December 1965 bigfala change kamap for olketa crocodile long Palau. Long datfala month wanfala solwata crocodile attackim and killim dae wanfala fisherman bilong Palau. Samfala week bihaen, olketa kasholem datfala animal and showim long pablik. Olketa pipol kamap kros tumas taem olketa lukim disfala animal and olketa killim hem dae.
“Wanfala Faet Againstim Disfala Animal”
Tufala savvyman bilong olketa crocodile, Harry Messel and F. Wayne King, meanim hao no longtaem bihaen diswan gavman startim “wanfala plan for finisim evri crocodile long Palau, nomata wea nao olketa stap. Hem olsem wanfala faet againstim disfala animal.” Olketa offerim selen, putim olketa trap, and olketa iusim hunting boat for faendem olketa animal. Start long 1979 go kasem 1981, olketa wea hunt killim dae 500 go kasem 1,000 crocodile. Olketa aotem skin bilong olketa animal hia and sellim.
From olketa mature crocodile garem bigfala skin, pipol targetim diswan. But, evritaem olketa wea hunt killim dae wanfala mature mere wan, olketa stopem winim 1,000 pikinini for born wea datfala mere wan savvy bornim insaed laef bilong hem. From diswan, namba bilong olketa crocodile go daon nao. Long start bilong olketa year long 1990, Messel and King luksavvy hao “150 wild crocodile nomoa stap long Palau.”
Hem tru, man garem reason for fraetem olketa solwata crocodile, from olketa savvy killim dae man. Nomata olsem, man for raet Carwardine hem say, “samting wea olketa duim long iumi hem small samting taem iumi markem withim samting wea iumi duim long olketa.”
Long 1997 olketa startim Ngardok Nature Reserve. Nomata olketa no startim disfala park for protectim olketa solwata crocodile nomoa, olketa kasem gud samting from diswan tu. Olketa swamp raonem Lake Ngardok provaedem ples for olketa crocodile haed and bornim pikinini.
Maet iu no laek fren gud withim wanfala solwata crocodile, but waswe, iu no agree hem olsem wanfala nambawan king?
[Footnote]
a Porosus hem kam from Greek word porosis, wea meanim “wanfala boela,” and part long Latin word -osus, wea meanim “fulap withim.”
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KRAE OLSEM CROCODILE
For talem toktok wea say man hem krae olsem crocodile meanim hem no showimaot trufala sorry. But why nao pipol storyim olketa crocodile olsem hypocrite? The International Wildlife Encyclopedia hem say, maet wanfala reason for disfala toktok hem from eye bilong olketa crocodile wet evritaem. So, “wata long eye wea trap insaed long eyelid, maet falldaon from corner bilong eye. Diswan, withim way wea mouth smile evritaem, maet startim disfala way for storyim olketa olsem hypocrite.”
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CROCODILE OR ALLIGATOR?
Wanem nao different long wanfala crocodile and wanfala alligator? Main samting hem teeth bilong olketa. For tok stret, taem wanfala crocodile satem mouth bilong hem, iu savvy lukim bigfala mek-foa teeth long bottom haf long mouth. But, long wanfala alligator top haf long mouth bilong hem kavarem disfala teeth.
[Olketa piksa]
Crocodile
Alligator
[Credit Line]
F. W. King photo
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Lukim olketa teeth hia!
[Credit Line]
By courtesy of Koorana Crocodile Farm, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
© Adam Britton, http://crocodilian.com
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By courtesy of Australian International Public Relations