On March 4^th one of the tour guides spotted the first hatchling crocodiles for the season. There were about 5 of them, roughly about 20cm long, at the entrance to a small creek on the outside of Pig Island, upstream from the ferry. We had been waiting for the opportunity to be the first to spot them, as we knew the nest was well inside the island. At that point there were no sightings of the female adult, but we knew that she was perhaps still at the nest dealing with the balance of the hatchlings. From the original 70 eggs, only about 20 will hatch. As I’m writing this, the young are gradually moving away from the crèche as hunger sets in and they have a need to be independent. This nest belongs to a young female crocodile named Lizzie. She is 17 years old and has nested every season since she was 12. At that age she was about 2.2 metres long. She is about 2.5 metres now. She got her name from a particular incident where, one day, she was swatting flies from her face in the way the queen would wave to the public.

We had been watching her for some years, as she habitually spent her time in behind the island. Then, at the beginning of 2005, one of the guides spotted her first nest at the upstream end of the island in quite clear view. Obviously inexperience meant that she did not realise that she would become the centre of attention! On that occasion there were 9 hatchlings. There was a flood thereafter which seemed to have washed some of the little ones further downstream. In 2006, her second time nesting, we did not see any signs or results and assumed that floods might have taken their tolls. Then, in 2008, her nest was spotted just inside the island and, although it was visible, it was well concealed. Things seemed to be a little late that year (they can hatch as early as late January). So, by early March we were telling our guests that any day we would see the babies. Then, on 3^rd of March we had storms and the river flooded. Unfortunately, the nest was inundated by water and obviously the potential hatchlings drowned, as they breathe through the egg shells in the late stages of incubation. As the river subsided, Lizzie waited dutifully for any signs of life (crocodiles are not intelligent enough to realise that they you would have drowned). As usual, the female will not excavate the nest until she hears the young calling. Instinctively she will release them. It was sad to watch her, day after day, waiting for the sounds. It was 6 weeks before she gave the game away. However, she is a proud mum once again and the cycle goes on! See you next month.

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