Darwin Day 3 - Crocosaurus Cove

Since hearing that Gabriel is now obsessed with crocodiles ever since his visit to Darwin in May, Katy has also been quite obsessed with crocodiles.  Her crocodile in Lishui apparently protects her because he has lights in his mouth so he scares the monsters away at night.

However, despite our best assurances, Katy's interest in crocs did not extend to the jumping crocodile cruise.  She's scared the crocodiles will jump into the boat.

So we decided to check out the super touristy Crocosaurus Cove, which is literally located in downtown Darwin.  It turned out to be a superb introduction to crocodiles for kids of Katy's age (and ours!).

Of course, we had to get a picture in front of "Burt", who is a 4.5 metre (15 foot) crocodile.  He's in solitary confinement because he is overly aggressive with the other crocodiles!


 Katy loved watching the curious "teenage" crocodiles, who swim up to you and eye you up and down.

 Then we watched Wendell demonstrate the fearsome strength and agility of crocodiles.

Wendell is also a huge crocodile!

 Then, we got a huge treat.  We had no idea, but we each got a turn feeding the teenage crocodiles.  They can actually jump out of the water.  We have video of this, but not photos.

And then, Katy (and we) were thrilled to find out that we were also going to be holding a baby crocodile.  Baby crocodiles have "needlie sharp teeth" as the guide said, so the one we held had his or her snout tied shut with a rubber band.

 Katy was fascinated, but skittish.

 We all had a turn kissing the crocodile, and goofing around generally...

 ...all so that the official photographer could take some great pictures, for which they charged, fittingly, an arm and a leg!  Katy continued to be fascinated by the baby crocodile while we selected our photos, and she kept stroking her, albeit gingerly.  The baby crocodile felt wonderful.  Her skin was very dry, cool, strong and tough, but her body itself was very soft.  She also would make little mewing sounds like a little kitten, though louder and a bit thumpier.  I kept calling it a "she" although apparently at this age, it is not possible to determine the sex.

But lest we forget how dangerous crocodiles get, here is a reminder of the devastating strength of their jaws.

Almost everything about a crocodile makes them a perfect predator.

But now Katy (and soon Gabriel) has a little furry green crocodile to call her own.  She went to bed clutching the croc last night and has been carting her around all day.  Her name is of course Rosie the Crocodile, just as all of Katy's stuffed animals are called Rosie or some variation thereof, with Candy as the middle name.