We had been searching for some years to find a giant crocodile to replace Killer, our huge Nile crocodile who had been captured in 1956 on an African expedition sponsored by Reptile Gardens. Finally, early in 2004 while working with a consortium of Australian zoological parks, finding them snakes from this country for exhibit at their parks, we were offered a large crocodile that was then living at an attraction in Sydney called Wonderland Sydney. The park was due to close permanently in April and they were looking for a good home for their big croc, Maniac.
Australia has very strict laws prohibiting almost all export of their native reptile species. However, since we were already working with the Australian government on importing reptiles for the Australian zoos, the process went relatively smoothly. Although to be honest, Curator Terry Phillip spent literally hundreds of hours over three months dealing with the Wonderland staff and the Australian government, writing and receiving emails, talking on the telephone, and sending documents via Federal Express.
The critical task of deciding if Maniac would suit our needs and subsequently handling the capture and crating of this amazing creature was the job of our Head Curator, Ken Earnest. Ken is one of the world's foremost authorities on crocodilians, and reptiles in general. He was the first person in the world to reproduce the highly endangered Cuban crocodile in captivity. Ken quickly made plans to go to Australia and handle this delicate process.
Getting a crate the square footage of a small bedroom, filling it with a crocodile from Sydney, Australia and bringing it to the heart of the Great Plains of America was no small feat. Maniac flew from Sydney to Los Angeles and from there to Denver, Colorado. No airplanes large enough to accommodate such a large crate in their cargo hold fly in to Rapid City, South Dakota so it necessitated renting a truck and driving Maniac the final 400 miles. Ken accompanied Maniac to Los Angeles, saw him through US Customs and US Fish and Wildlife Service inspections, and then on the plane bound for Denver.
Terry met the plane in Denver and drove the truck back to Rapid City. Once here, it took the help and skill of our friends at SECO Construction with their extra large fork lift to get the massive 1+ton crate and crocodile out of the truck and lifted into position for the release. So, 39 hours after he was captured and crated, Maniac strolled out into his beautiful new enclosure at Reptile Gardens
Maniac is a male saltwater crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus). According to our friend George Craig of Australia, they have the potential to get up to 22 feet long. They can possibly live to be around 100. Maniac was born in captivity in 1970. We felt it important to get a young crocodile that had been born in captivity. Big crocs tend to get very stressed when transported and so one that was already used to intrusions by humans makes a much better traveler.
Maniac is 15 feet 8 inches long, no fudging, no exaggerating. He currently weighs roughly 1250 pounds based on his documented weight upon arrival and his gain since we have had him. (Let's face it, we don't have a scale big enough for him nor do we have anyone big enough to put him on it if we did!)
We are very proud of our newest resident; he is a truly spectacular sight to see. In fact, it has been suggested we change his name to "OH MY GOSH!" as that is the first thing most people say upon seeing him for the first time. Maniac is in perfect condition with a huge head, lots of big sharp teeth, and strikingly beautiful coloration with large scutes (large armored scales) across his back.
SPECIAL NOTE: There has been so much written in books and magazines and stated on animal programs on television lately about big reptiles. The facts in these stories were not accurate. Often these "facts" are distorted, exaggerated or pure fabrication.
There is no genuine 20 foot crocodile in captivity anywhere in the world. The 2 largest crocodiles in captivity are Cassius at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, Australia and Yai a saltwater/siamese hybrid listed in the references as being in several different locations. Cassius is huge and he is a true 18 feet long. Yai is reported by the Guiness book at being 19 feet 8 inches. Along with Maniac, another very large croc in the US is Maximo, a big saltwater crocodile living at St Augustine Alligator Farm. He is accurately measured at 15 feet 3 inches.
Saltwater crocs are the biggest crocs in the world. There are species, such as the Nile crocodile, the Orinoco crocodile, and a couple of others that get large but none get over 20 feet long. When you really research it, there just aren't any truly reliable records of any crocodile over 22 feet.
There is a story that has been floating around for decades about a croc killed in India many years ago that measured 33 feet long. A subsequent measuring of its skull in the British Museum (skull measurements are very accurate for telling the length of crocs) showed the animal to have been less than 16 feet long.
The same, incidentally, is true of snakes. You hear of anacondas and reticulated pythons reaching 30 feet or more. But, again, serious research reveals that none of those records are truly reliable. Lengths in the mid-20's are probably all either snake can reach. A good example of poor journalism in this regard is the recently touted 49 foot, 984 pound reticulated python at a zoo in Indonesia. The story was run by Reuters. Looking at the photos it is obvious to any reptile person that the snake was not even 20 feet long and probably weighed in at 250 pounds or so. The zoo eventually recanted and claimed that the snake had mysteriously shrunk!
