Of Mr Swaby and the misunderstood crocodile

Joan Williams, Contributor

I say without any fear of contradiction that the Black River Safari, which I have enjoyed with friends and family about four times and have always been fascinated by the sheer beauty of the surroundings, is Jamaica's most magnificent attraction.

For when you travel through the mangroves, some with roots shooting more than 30 feet into the air, see the birds nesting peacefully and the crocs sunning themselves at a safe distance, it really feels like a safari.

This attraction was developed by our own 'Crocodile Dundee' environmentalist, Charles Swaby, a gentleman who tells me he has been interacting with crocodiles since he was nine years old.

To me, and people like myself who have an inborn fear of reptiles (I suspect I was eaten by a reptile in my past life!), this gentleman would, of course, be a natural hero and is surely the only person on earth who could have inveigled me to touch a living croc, though small. For I remember the first time that I saw one about that same size was many years ago at the Swamp Safari in Trelawny, and I am here to tell you that even Usain Bolt can only dream about one day beating the record I set that day to get as far as possible from that little creature!

On two previous occasions, I nearly died from a heart attack on learning how close I had been to one or more of the fearsome monsters.

The first time was quite a few decades ago, while exploring the southern part of Jamaica with our then very young kids. We had been in the Milk River area, and on learning that there was a family of endangered manatees (sea cows) in a preserve nearby, naturally, we visited.

When we found the place, we saw the huge, gentle animals swimming peacefully and idly, and the caretaker told us they were harmless and we could swim with them if we wished. Of course, we wished and jumped into the water and had a great time playing with them.

About 20 years later, as I was taking the south coast road back to Kingston and as I was passing the reserve where we had swum with the manatees, I stopped to see if they still were there. This time, however, I did not see any manatees but a huge, dangerous-looking crocodile. I asked the caretaker what had happened to the manatees and he told me they had gone upriver to feed, but would be back in the afternoon. Curious, I asked him if the crocodiles did not attack the manatees and he told me no. So I asked how long the crocodiles had been in that area and he told me that they had always been there!

Crocodile nightmares

Well, you could have hit me down with a straw for I was totally horrified at the thought that crocodiles could have been around, slinking in the area and peeking through the reeds, when I had swum and frolicked with my kids right there, some years before. I tell you, as I drove to Kingston, I could not get rid of the feeling of sheer horror at the thought of what could have happened, and for about two weeks I woke up with cold sweat all over my body as I kept having nightmares about being attacked and eaten by one of those monsters. In fact, even now as I think of crocs having been in the same water as my kids, it sends shivers down my spine.

I never returned to that area until 2009 when we of Fun and Thrills Adventure Club decided to ride from Kingston to Negril, for the first time, using the south coast route. Of course, I never reached Negril on my bicycle that day or ever, as my record stands at only reaching Black River some 14 hours after we had set out from Kingston, but that is another story.

When we arrived at the manatee reserve, I noticed that there were now a series of signs warning against swimming at the spot where the family of manatees had been, including a sign saying 'Crocodile Alert, no swimming' near to the one proclaiming 'Alligator Hole, home of the manatees'.

We tarried there a while, but saw neither croc nor manatee so we went on our merry way. When we arrived in Black River, we gathered at a restaurant east of the bridge and a bit above where the sea meets the river. After ordering some fried fish and bammy, because I was hot and tired, I jumped into the water in my clothes and swam a little. When I came out of the water, a lady came to me and said "You should not swim there you know, as crocodiles are in the water." I was totally shocked as I had spent a large part of my youth swimming in that very area, and even had friends who used to regularly water ski in the vicinity, and we had always heard the crocodiles were in the river, not the sea. I wondered, too, why she had told me after I came out of the water and not when I was going in, or calling me out while I was in the sea cooling off!

Anyway, to make matters worse, as I sat by the beach waiting on my food, up swam a crocodile past the exact spot where I had been. Well, I am here to tell you that I will never swim in the sea at Black River again, for since then, I have even learnt that the crocs are seen as far up as at the off-white-sand beaches at Parottee, and I consider it gross negligence by the parish council for failing to erect signs in the area warning humans not to swim in those parts!

I am still reeling at the thought of how different my fate could have been had I been still in the water when the croc had come swimming up into the sea.

This is why when I got an opportunity to interview Mr Swaby, the most knowledgeable man about crocodiles, my first question to him was, "What should one do if one comes face to face with a crocodile?"

He started out by reminding me that the only time you see crocs in Jamaica is when we humans are in their territory! So true.

But according to Mr Swaby, our crocs are the most misunderstood animals, for whereas the crocs found in the Nile, Australia, some parts of New Guinea, etc, are fierce predators, our crocs are mainly non-violent and shy creatures which only attack humans when they are protecting their eggs or their nesting grounds and, on rare occasions, when they are very hungry.

Then he dropped the bombshell. "Other animals, including dogs, pigs, and cows attack, maim and kill far more people in Jamaica than crocodiles."

As he said that, my mind immediately went to the pit-bulls that have been illegally smuggled into Jamaica and which have been making the news on an all too regular basis as they, without provocation, attack people, especially children, and about which government agencies will do nothing.

Anyway, as I refocused my mind to the crocs, I reminded Mr Swaby how one had killed a lady right on the shores of the Black River some years ago, but he was very familiar with the case and explained the entire history, including the fact that the particular croc had been attacked and hurt by humans and had been roaming around quite agitated for some time.

He also cited an even more recent case where a croc had been killed in another parish and the remains of a child found in its stomach, but said that while it is possible the croc had indeed killed the child, because the animals are also scavengers, it was also possible that the croc had found a dead body and eaten it.

Humans more harmful

As he continued to speak passionately about how the crocodile is misunderstood and how us two-legged animals are by far more wicked and destructive, he cited an instance where a few years ago, in Jamaica, a man was caught dumping a dead boy in a crocodile-infested area, apparently in the hope that crocs would have eaten the evidence.

To tell the truth, after speaking to Mr Swaby, I do feel less hostile to these super-ugly, but apparently fairly harmless animals which have pride of place on our coat of arms. (However, I have no plans or desire to touch a large one!)

Pity, though, some persons have now acquired the taste for these endangered reptiles and now further threaten their existence by killing them for food. By God, they did it!

Joan Williams, co-host of JUSTICE on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4th edition is now an ebook available at http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref... gratestj@gmail.com.