“If you're going to live by the river, make friends with the crocodile.” -Indian Proverb

Post by: Beth

One of the good things about traveling so much is the opportunity to see things that you just wouldn't see in the U.S. Like touring a crocodile farm where the animals are bred and reared.

From the website (www.singaporecrocfarm.com):

Six decades ago, not long after the end of the Second World War, an enterprising Chinese man, Mr. Tan Gna Chua, decided that he wanted to share his home with these unloved reptiles. With the help of his family, he transformed the one acre of land that surrounded his home at Upper Serangoon Road into a reptile farm, which was the first of its kind in Singapore. They started with only ten crocodiles. With careful breeding, the numbers grew rapidly. Being the entrepreneur he was, Mr Tan opened his farm to the public. Within its premises he set up a factory, where the crocodile skin was processed, made into various products, then sold at the gift shop as well as overseas. Visitors were free to come in to take a look around, without having to pay an entrance fee - and this is still the case today.

By taking a walk on a path surrounded by trees, one can find well-known species such as the Tomistoma, Caiman, Prosus, and many more. One can also learn here, the differences between the various species of the Crocodylus family. After viewing our scaly friends, one can take a walk through the now defunct factory, where crocodile skin was once processed at the time the farm was established, in 1945. We no longer use these equipment and methods to do the job, but have maintained everything in its original form, for your viewing pleasure. This is something you will not be able to see anywhere else!

Ok, so how do you say "no" to that, right? We trekked on down and had our look around. Raja and I were both surprised that I was a bit alarmed.. the crocodiles aren't all completely surrounded by fencing as they are in the zoos, and you can get really close to these huge creatures. Not that much, animal & wildlife-wise, really makes me nervous.. but these did the trick. I ended up hanging around in the dead center of all the crocodile pens, so I could see them all at once, and my back was to none of them if I continuously moved in a circle. (I may have looked crazy, but I felt less in danger.) Raja had a great time and fearlessly took photos for our memory preservation and your viewing pleasure. :)

This little guy was my favorite crocodile of the day. He was much less scary than the others, what with his being made of stone and all. ;)