DUBAI // Never smile at a crocodile, the old song goes. But for staff it was hard to keep the grins off their faces after two babies were born to King and Queen Croc at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.There was hope the newborns will grow up to be huge attractions – literally – like their Australian saltwater crocodile parents.
“The king and queen have reproduced unexpectedly. It is something we did not think they could do and would do,” said Paul Hamilton, the general manager and curator at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.
King Croc, who is 40, is among the largest reptiles in the world. His companion, Queen Croc, is more than 80 years old.
At only 30 centimetres long and weighing 70 grams, the baby crocs are dwarfed by their 5.1-metre long, 750-kilogram father.
The adult crocs took up residence at the mall in June last year and quickly adapted to their new home. The queen laid 59 eggs over a 90-day incubation period, but many of them stopped developing at various stages and only 25 remain in incubators at this point.
Mr Hamilton said the chances of Queen Croc successfully laying so many eggs were thought to be low because of her age.
In nature, about 90 per cent of all baby crocs struggle for survival, as they are eaten by fish, monitor lizards and other predators.
Both parent crocs previously lived on a crocodile farm in Australia and have been companions for more than 20 years.
The process of nesting, laying, hatching and monitoring the eggs and incubation took place in the aquarium, Mr Hamilton said.
“The successful hatching of the baby crocs highlights the conducive environment that Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo offers to King Croc and his companion, and how effortlessly they have adapted to their home in Dubai.”
The gender of the babies can be determined only after a couple of weeks, and they will be kept at the aquarium until they are large enough to be transferred to a zoo, he said.
“We will accommodate them to until a certain size, and when we feel they need a bigger home, we will start looking to zoos around the world.”
roueiti@thenational.ae
