CROCODILES
OF THE REVOLUTION
Written by Steve Irwin
Two
hours' flying time north of Australia lies the island of Timor. It is one
of the last islands in the long chain of the Indonesian Archipelago. Divided
into the eastern and western provinces, this small island has had conflict
for over 20 years. In 1999, East Timor broke away from Indonesia when
it gained independence. A war broke out, thousands of people were killed,
the main city of Dili was burnt to the ground, towns and villages were
destroyed and the remaining local people were refugees fleeing for their
lives. The new independent country of East Timor was a war-torn mess.
Luckily, the Australian armed forces, international soldiers and the United
Nations helped resolve the conflict and stopped the killing.
The East
Timorese people regard my favourite animal as their sacred totem and believe
their island home is actually a solidified crocodile. Yahoo! What a
bonus for the largest crocodile, the greatest reptile, the modern day
dinosaur the Saltwater Crocodile!
Some Australian
Army soldiers (diggers) located and were very concerned about a huge crocodile
at the church, one of the only remaining buildings in Dili. The crocodiles
name was Anthony. Another smaller, battered and tortured croc was found
in a cesspit of putrefying dogs, body parts and garbage. Her name was
Maxine. During a tense military action to secure East Timor, the Diggers
felt very sorry and compassionate for the crocodiles and helped keep them
alive with food and water. Well done fellas, you saved their lives
and I will always speak openly and passionately about my pride and total
honour in your efforts to comfort and nurture those very special, very
sacred animals. When the heat of war simmered down, the Army contacted
WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals). Kylie Jones, a
beautiful woman with a heart of gold for wildlife, is Australias
W.S.P.A. head honcho. She took the bull by the horns and contacted me
at Australia Zoo to negotiate the best possible solution.
Both crocodiles
were held in absolutely appalling conditions; not even the worst dungeon
would compete with the dreadful torture and terror they suffered. However,
crocodiles have a sacred status with the Timorese my dad and my
aboriginal mates taught me that one should always endeavour to promote
and enhance local people's beliefs, traditions and sacred animals. Therefore,
bringing the crocs back to Australia was not an option. I somehow had
to maintain the Timorese passion, beliefs and sacredness of these crocodiles,
save the crocodiles and make sure they were maintained in a happy, healthy
state for the rest of their lives, which could be up to 80 years. Hmmmm!
I sent Wes
Mannion (my best mate and Director of Australia Zoo) and Brian Coulter
(our brilliant Curator of Crocodiles at Australia Zoo) to assess the situation
with Kylie. They flew over on the next available U.N. flight and took
two days to get a complete evaluation of the dilemma we were faced with.
The situation didnt look too good. Maxine was in a lot of trouble.
Shed been poked in the eyes, bashed around the head, and was lliving in the
most horrific, putrid water, which was nothing more than a bath of bacteria
and disease. Also, the water was so shallow she couldnt submerge.
Poor girl, she was in a bad way and it was doubtful she would live much
longer. Anthony, on the other hand, was a large twelve-footer who was reeking
with aggression and hatred at being tortured and tormented all his life.
He was in an eight foot square concrete box with steel and mesh and rusted
iron over the top of him. Hed been in there unable to walk, swim
or do anything for at least thirteen years and he was ANGRY. Hes
a big boy and a beautiful croc nonetheless.
Despite cherishing
their crocs and acknowledging them in their local legend, the Timorese
have absolutely no idea about inhumane treatment and the tormenting of
wildlife. Continuing education was going to be of paramount significance.
They obviously really like their crocodiles but have no concept of how
theyre hurting them. After a short briefing with Wes and Brian,
it was obvious what we had to do.
East Timor Crocodile Project (E.T.C.P.).
Our mission was to achieve:
(1) Happy
and healthy animals in as natural conditions as possible.
(2) Maintain sacred status.
(3) Establish a global message of commitment to East Timor and its precious
wildlife.
(4) Fundraise at Australia Zoo for money, medicines and clothes for the
church.
East Timor
was a war zone and a third world nation full of refugees and rubble; no
way we could get building supplies or tools. So as I designed the new
crocodile enclosures, Wes resourced the equipment and how we could get
it there. Heres what we wanted to construct and the equipment wed
need to do the job:
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