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DAILY EXPRESS (Sabah, Malaysia) 11 October 05 Captive croc success
Kota Kinabalu: Monday saw a celebration of sorts when the first eggs hatched with an unprecedented 93pc success rate at the Taman Buaya Tuaran, surprising even the owners of the parent Sandakan Crocodile Farm Sdn Bhd founded in 1952.
"Of 43 fertilised eggs, 40 hatched," noted Nyo Cho Tong, Director and General Manager of Taman Buaya Tuaran which now has about 1,000 heads in addition to 7,000 in Sandakan.
The size of a crocodile egg is comparable to a goose egg and a hatchling measures about one-foot long. The maiden hatching coincided with a group of Japanese tourists who instantly fell in love with the baby reptiles.
"They are so cute," said Ayako Teraoka from Tokyo.
"It's so nice," added Sumiko Kimori, from Kobe.
"More surprising was that we had not even set up a proper incubation facility yet," Nyo said. "When the eggs came, we just improvised with a discarded ice-cream freezer and used it as a temporary measure but it worked very well."
An electric light bulb hung across the freezer, which goes on and off at fixed intervals - the only device used to control the temperature.
Like sea turtles, incubation temperature determines the sex of crocodiles. "Twenty-nine degrees Celsius and above, you get males and below 29 degrees you get females," Nyo said.
"We are very happy and excited because actually we didn't expect any egg to hatch and least of all so successful, " Nyo said.
Surprised by the unexpectedly large captive reproductive success, Nyo said that after transferring the mother crocs all the way from Sandakan, they thought the eggs had been spoilt.
Chai said the hatching rate in Tuaran was also better than in Sandakan.
" I think it may have to do with new and cleaner water," he said.
Witnessing the occasion was Laurentius Ambu, deputy Director of Sabah Wildlife Department.
"This is what we encourage - captive breeding or ex-situ conservation of the Crocodylus porosus which is an endangered species throughout its range," Ambu told Daily Express.
Because of its high quality skin, it was "heavily traded" but has since been regulated internationally under a listing in the Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES).
Sabah may still have a mininmum of 11,000 heads of Crocodylus porosus in the wild, Ambu said.
CITES regulations also ban the slaughter of the first to third generations of captive bred endangered crocodile species.
"With these new hatchlings, we now have a second generation of crocodiles but it will take 10 more years before we get a third generation," Nyo said. "In Sandakan, we slaughter about 2,000 heads a year," he said.
"Our main point is for skins and skin products, " he said.
The skins are sold to a Singapore leather products manufacturer which turns them into high value-added hand bags, wallets, belts, etc, one of which was priced at RM28,888 at the Tuaran Farm showroom.
Besides skins, the Sandakan farm supplies about one tonne of meat per month to restaurants and the public, under licence.
"It is very popular, " Nyo said.
Tourists now account for 30 per cent of all revenues for the operators. "I am more motivated than ever," said Chai Yau Look, nicknamed "Crocodile King," after 53 years of rearing killer crocodiles chiefly for skins, then meat and now tourism.
Proof of his soaring interest - setting up the third farm costing RM4 million in Tuaran eight months ago, besides two in Sandakan.
Captive croc success
