Croc of the Rock

It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day, which holds a special place in the hearts of Mrs Sciencebase and myself that has nothing to do with Dubloons, wooden legs, nor eyepatches. Nevertheless, a day out at a local farm seemed a sensible way to celebrate, hahah. So, we headed into deepest, darkest Huntingdonshire, we met no one on the way to St Ives (not that one), flew around RAF Wyton, headed for Pidley (birthplace of our long-gone feline) and took a sharp left after a U-turn to Johnson’s Farm in Old Hurst.

Now, Johnson’s farm has sheep and cows, a butchery, and a farm shop and cafe. But, it also has Macaws and Emus, Meerkat(s), Capybara, giant rabbits, and (not seen) Wallabies. It also has a flock of about 7 or 8 Storks, a bird species that like the Gene Genie loves chimney stacks, but usually those of continental central and eastern Europe rather than the British Isles. Johnson’s also has some tropical birds, a boa constrictor, oh and there is something else…crocodiles.

The crocodiles are I believe part of a conservation, breeding programme, but from the aforementioned working farm and butchery point of view, they are the most efficient means of disposing of the tons of butchery waste generated each year. which has crocodiles…I don’t know if any of them have a ticking alarm clock in their stomach.

They’re not quite as cute as the Horsey seals, maybe not quite as watchable as the birds I photograph, and definitely not as up-close-and-serious as the moths. But, they are, you must admit, rather photogenic in an almost tropical prehistoric way…needles to say, I got a few snaps.

Spectacled Caiman, Caiman crocodilus
Spectacled Caiman, Caiman crocodilus