Crocodiles

For centuries, people lived with and respected the all-powerful crocodile. Those snapping jaws and lethal teeth frightened all attackers away, whether human or animal. People were also fascinated by their characteristic calls, their beauty and their intelligence. Unfortunately, it was their beautiful skin which put them under threat. When explorers realized how valuable crocodile skin was, everything changed. Hunters risked their lives-and sometimes lost them-in order to satisfy the world’s demand for crocodile skin.

Worse was to come. The crocodiles’ homes began to disappear as new towns and industries were developed on the land near swamps and rivers. Luckily for the crocodiles, people realized that a world without them would just not be the same, and now they have been officially declared an endangered species. In some parts of the world, there are now parks where crocodiles may live safely, with laws to protect them.

“It is illegal to kill crocodiles”, says conservationist Charles Swaby, who has spent the last thirty years protecting the Jamaican crocodiles. The problem is that when farm animals are killed by crocodiles, farmers ignore the law and kill them. This is what Charles is fighting against. “Crocodiles are much more scared of us than we are of them. They are scary but lovely to watch,” he adds. If Charles, and others like him, can convince the world to share this opinion, crocodiles will be with us forever.