Wanted: Caring home for 1,000 crocs
Ferocious reptiles need to be relocated after Israeli tourism farm closes. And they’re still hatching
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority has a scaly problem on its hands: What to do with 1,000 crocodiles in a farm that is being closed down in the Jordan Valley area?
The Fatzael crocodile farm is more or less deserted, with only one worker who has remained behind to feed his reptilian stock.
The farm, which opened in 1987, was ordered shut after by the local council after 70 of the creatures escaped in 2012, according to a report from Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday. The creates, which can grow to be up to three meters long, caused panic among the public until they were all recaptured and taken back to the farm. Not wishing to take any chances, authorities moved in stopped the farm’s operations, which were aimed at the tourist market.
However, there still remains the question of what to do with the reptiles. According to the report, in addition to the crocodiles already at the site there are 1,000 eggs, and that number could swell to 3,500.
The Nature and Parks Authority told the Times of Israel that it is making inquires abroad in the hope of finding a suitable site to take in the crocodiles. They better get snappy.
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