THE CROCODILE FARM!!!

Yesterday, it is with joy that we visited The Crocodile Farm.

Located in Pierrelate in the Drôme department of Southeast France.
This 8000m2 tropical greenhouse was created in the early 90's.

There are 600 animals, including 400 crocodiles.
The beauty of the place is made by plants and tropical trees,
their exotic perfumes intoxicate us all the way!

From the entrance we can observe the unique crocodile couple in Europe:
2 albino alligators from Louisiana, scientists study them to understand
albinism in crocodiles.

(they play hide-and-seek! ahah)

There are 23 species of crocodilians in the tropical and subtropical regions of our Earth.
They are gathered in 3 families:

• Crocodilidae which include 13 species.

(crocodile of the nile)

• Alligatoridae, 2 species of alligators and 6 caimans.

(Mississippi alligator)

• Gavialidae 2 species.

(False galvial or Tomistoma Schlegelii)

Crocodilians are the oldest present animals on our planet!
They date from the time of the dinosaurs (-200 Million years).
Only Galvialidae appeared later in the Eocene.

There are still 20 million years, they swam in the waters of France and Europe!

Watch this beautiful eye! It is covered with 3 eyelids.
One eyelids closes when it plunges under water, it is transparent.
His ear behind the eye is protected by a shell.
and his nostrils close by a muscle during his dives.

There, it looks like he's smiling !!

They remain motionless hours often mouth open,
this allows them to regulate their temperature.

The crocodile farm created the association "SOS reptile",
for the safeguarding of endangered species,

the crocodile has long been hunted for its skin, and its species was almost extinct!
The human being encroaches on its habitat and because of this it has difficulty to feed itself.

Here, there is therefore a reptile egg incubator,

which allows the birth of beautiful babies so that they do not disappear permanently from our planet.

(This Nile crocodile at 2 years old!)

They are an important part of the food chain,
they regulate the population of weak animals.
Even if some people are afraid of it, they protect our ecosystem.

Regardons de plus près cette végétation luxuriante!

You can see Papaya and Mango, with their colorful fruits.

The gigantic height of this white Latanier of Madagascar!

The Royal Palm of Cuba is the only tree in the island that is resistant to cyclones!
Its fruits are often fed to animals.

All these flourish beneath the attentive eye of exotic birds.

The great sacred Ibis: venerated in ancient Egypt,
we can see some in Camargues.

An equally surprising: the Hornbill Trumpet, native to South Africa trpicale,
with an impressing beak!

Be careful, we are entering another territory, that of turtles!

Turtles are also an animal threatened with extinction.
The worst threat is that of Asia where they are caught to be eaten!

There are Galapagos turtles,

giant Seychelles turtles,

and the European pond turtle which is threatened by the invasion of Florida torturos released in France,
I already mentioned in a previous post.

(Small Cistula eggs)

I had present you the main boarders of this site necessary for the conservation of the species.

All the photos taken are from me, made with my Kodak Pixpro az522 and with my Samsung S8.

For proof here I am (and we do not make fun, I had the sun in my eyes!)

This weekend, I'll show you the other boarders I've omitted here.

In the meantime let's not forget that every living being from tiny to gigantic is vital
for the survival of our humanity ...

Some references come from:
https://www.lafermeauxcrocodiles.com
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Ferme_aux_crocodiles