Today is the formal end of the road trip, devoted to a quick trip to the crocodile refuge 15 km north of Balikpapan, and to wash the car and arrange for the repair of that dinged front fender.
We have been hearing about the crocodiles that are sometimes sighted in mangroves, estuaries and rivers, but as much as we have tried have not been able to see a single one. That is why when we heard about the crocodile rescue site in Teritip we thought we had to go an check it out. It really was a bit like going to the animal shelter, where the animals are housed in clean pens but without much freedom of movement. Mind you, the pens are of a reasonable size, and half of the area is occupied by a shallow square pool, but it is not like the crocs are taken out for walks. There were a dozen saltwater crocs of large size (4 to 5 m long) that totally freaked Irvan because he was told they could jump a couple of meters out of the water, several dozen fresh water crocs ranging is size between 0.5 and 3 meters, and even a couple of gharials 2 m long (the gharial is a croc with a very slender and long snout, armed with scary sharp teeth that it uses to capture fast-moving fishes). Within the compound there are a couple of lagoons where 10 to 12 crocs live together, in a way more representative of their natural habitat. In these groups there are always a couple of very large males that get first dibs when they are fed chickens, about once a week. Last feeding was a holiday feast, where the crocs consumed 4,000 chickens!
The lady who took us around knows many of the crocs by name, and when she calls them they cross the lagoon to see if she brought them any treats. Unfortunately this rescue site is also the place where these crocodiles will end dying, because they are not here to be "rehabilitated" and re-released into the wild (neighbors would not appreciate that). While we were there a pickup drove in, carrying a crocodile that had been captured in the river that crosses the new capital city. It was stretched and trussed around a stout pole, and the crew consisted of four burly workers that had to struggle to lift the 3 m croc. Apparently three others have been captured and will be brought to the rescue one by one in the next three days.
The rescue also had a python, coiled into an enormous ball, five monkeys, and even two small Indian elephants. All animals are treated with kindness, but I wish they were either taken to a zoo or returned to their natural habitats.
As for returning the car, we met with the representative of the owner, drove to the body shop, and after much consultation I agreed to the repair bill of 2,000,000 rupiahs. It was fun having a car, and there was no other way we could have done the circuit we did without one, but it was stressful and I am now ready to give other forms of transport a try (e.g., motorcycles). Now I will get to complain from the other side of the fence ;)
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