Camp Crocodile Mongu: Eggs, eggs and more eggs…

Well we are still here at Camp Crocodile Mongu in Zambia enjoying our wild African Safari Vacation (not really a vacation, although our wives would like to think so). Look for us on Google Earth, GPS co-ordinates are S15 16.0074 E22 56.3351.

Location of Camp Crocodile Mongu on Zambezi River

Collecting crocodile eggs is not the most difficult task, however it is tedious and one has to be careful with the eggs. Most of the nests we are picking up are not more than a day or two old, still have the hatching mucous and are very slippery. We start by making sure that there are eggs in the nest. Once that has been established, we wash our hands with an antiseptic water mixture. This helps remove any toxins, such as petroleum fuels etc, from our hands before we handle the eggs.

Next we start marking an X on the top of the eggs and transferring them into our Styrofoam box which has a layer of wet sand in the bottom. The natural nest is very moist and humid, moistness comes from the mother returning periodically to urinate on the nest, and the humidity comes from our extremely hot days combined with the wet soil, hence our need for wet sand in the box. Also, wet sand assists with the transportation as the eggs will not be able to move in the box.

Crocodile eggs are very sensitive and need to be transported and packed into the incubator almost exactly as they were found in the wild. Any wild movement, turning the eggs over or dropping them will produce an infertile egg. Eggs where there are cracks or dents seep are rejected. We have found from past experience that they rot in the incubator and are not worth taking back to the farm. Each layer of eggs is covered with sand until we have transferred all the eggs. We then put a strong board under the box and it is ready for transportation to the boat. The finder of the eggs has to transport the eggs to the boat to get paid and in some cases this means a 45 minute walk with a box in his head.

We received word of 2 nests south of Lundai, 50 mins from camp. Mark, Jim and Chief Egg Collector Aston set out at 08:50hrs for collection, Graham heading 50kms north for 2 more nests. If we average 50 eggs per nest it is considered a good average. The river is calm today and a hippo has taken up residence on the opposite bank from camp. This must be a lone bull as we located a pod of 5 further south, cruising rather too close for comfort resulting from a  basic English to Lozi translation error. Hippos provide a vital service to the health of the river, so it is fantastic to see them make a comeback on this section of the river. We also saw our first crocodile sunning herself on a river bank. Being reptiles, crocodiles have to regulate body temperature by sun bathing during the day. Their metabolism speeds up the warmer they are. Between mating and laying her eggs, a mother crocodile hardly eats and therefore does not have to sun herself that often, so seeing a crocodile on the sandbanks indicates that some laying is occurring.

We missed our rendezvous with our spotter but Aston, using co-ordinates from last year managed to find two nests which were a 30 minutes walk through reeds and swamp. The swampy areas are almost like trampolines with a foot or so of reeds growing on 6ft or so of water. One has to keep moving or a plunge into the water below is inevitable. Aston felt it would be easier for himself to collect these nests and left Jim and Mark on a river bank to play some unique beach volley ball. Our main court line being drawn from a crocodile tail track while crossing over from the river to the swamp.

Aston managed to pick up a third nest on his way back to the boat so all in all a successful morning. Returned to camp and repacked one of the boxes as the sand was very dry and then sprayed virukill on all nests. The embryo develops from the top center of the egg, spreading down the sides first and then along the length of the egg later in the process. When one looks at a freshly laid egg, there are no bands as the embryo is still a small pin prick at the top of the egg. After two days of so, the bands appear. The bigger the band the older the egg. The nest we collected today would suggest it was a week or so old.

Time for lunch, it is good to have Jim (Leatherman Jim & head chef) back, two days off with food poisoning (Yes, it does beg the question…) laid him flat with the rather uncomfortable ailing phase endured through 100 degree weather and sub par ablution facilities. Our toilet at the moment is a toilet seat strapped onto an old beer crate.

One more nest after lunch then off to meet a supplies delivery at the “pontoon” a simple ferry point 20 minutes up river. Drinks, ice, and fuel, cold beers tonight.

One more nest on Saturday  in Lundai, Mr Yeta Sisi proving to be our main contributor again this year, averaging one nest a day. He is a very dedicated individual, constantly rising at 5AM to do his rounds checking on the nest sites he knows about and scouting any new sites. Last year he provided 7 nests for us, this year he is confident of up to 15 nests. When they find a nest, his partner, Brian, stays at the site to protect it from legavons and other predators.We spent the rest of the day playing Frisbee golf readying ourselves for the Sunday tournament.

Do you think you would like to join the boys at Camp Crocodile Mongu in 2010?  We’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

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