Reptile & Amphibian Forums

PHUKET GAZETTE (Thailand) 01 November 05 Croc makes good pillow and a snappy companion
Phichit: Some people like to argue about which breed of dog makes the best four-legged home security system, but a coffee vendor in this province has found that his 70-kilogram pet crocodile is just as effective at keeping burglars at bay as any Rottweiler, Pit Bull or Doberman.
Prayoon “Khiat” Thong jorn, 43, bought the crocodile for 3,000 baht as a hatchling from a crocodile farm in Phichit some six years ago.
Rather than raise the reptile for use as a future handbag, he lavished on it the same love and affection usually reserved for more conventional pets.
The baby croc, named “Ai Khaeng”, went with him everywhere.
He even slipped the creature in his shirt pocket when he went out on his coffee-selling rounds.
Although Ai Khaeng is now an impressive weight, Prayoon hasn’t let size come between him and his pet; the pair still sleep together under the same mosquito net, along with Prayoon’s son.
Prayoon, who sleeps in the middle, even uses Ai Khaeng as a pillow, hugging the reptile during slumber.
Ai Khang is fed two kilos of meat every two days, which is apparently enough to keep him healthy and satisfied.
When a neighbor once told Prayoon that he had better be careful when Ai Khaeng is hungry, K. Prayoon decided to do a little experiment.
“I let him go for a full 20 days without food to see what would happen, but he didn’t show any signs of annoyance or aggression.
“He just followed me around all the time with his mouth wide open, hoping I would take the hint and feed him,” he said.
Despite his apparent tameness, Ai Khaeng is an effective “watch-croc”. Prayoon’s neighbors do not dare venture into his house or bother K. Prayoon when his reptilian friend is with him – which is all the time.
News of Ai Khaeng and Prayoon has generated a good deal of interest; the pair have already done roadshows and also performed at the One Tambon One Product Fair in Phichit on October 20.
Croc makes good pillow and a snappy companion

C. siamensis X C. porosus hybrid crocodiles, the farm crocodiles like the one in the story are sold in the pet trade here for as little as 1800 Baht. With constant attention given every day, stories like these are not uncommon; however, the farm crocodiles used in the shows have bitten down of the heads of many people doing the shows (the old stick the head in the crocodile's mouth act). One thing that all these kind of shows have in common from what I have seen is that they ensure that the crocodile's eyes stay shut for a prolonged period before sticking their head in the mouth of the crocodile. Do crocodiles keep from biting if their eyes are shut?

As far as Crocodylus siamensis is concerned, there has never been a documented unprovoked attack by them, contrary to the story in the Bangkok Post; he was undoubtedly trying to kill or capture it. If anyone has any documentation about unprovoked attacks by C. siamensis, please let me know before I try to publish something.

Michael

Michael,
Wirot Nutaphand told about a Siamese Croodile, which killed one old women on the banks of Mae Nam Kwae Noi in Kanchanaburi Province - this happened before WW II.

Ralf,

Thank you for that information. I will look that up and maybe dig a little deeper into any other attacks that may have happened here.

I do not know if you heard, but Wirot Nutphund died in June. He was truly the father of herpetology in Thailand. I am still in the process of trying to obtain his earlier books and writings and hope one day to translate these important publications into English and maybe German.

Michael

>>Michael,
>>Wirot Nutaphand told about a Siamese Croodile, which killed one old women on the banks of Mae Nam Kwae Noi in Kanchanaburi Province - this happened before WW II.