Figure 2 - uploaded by Patrick Moldowan
Content may be subject to copyright.
Blade and Suede, Orinoco Crocodiles (Crocodylus intermedius): a. the pair as hatchlings in Venezuela as acquired by Karel Fortyn and the Seaway Serpentarium; b. Blade (top) and Suede (bottom) at the Gladys Porter Zoo; c. eggs laid by Suede following breeding at the Gladys Porter Zoo. Photo a. by Patrick Moldowan -of a photo courtesy of Karel Fortyn and photos b-c by Clint Guadiana.
Source publication
Let me first introduce you to the Karel Fortyn (1959-2011), late owner and operator of the Seaway Serpentarium. Karel has been fittingly described as a “colourful, Czech-born, chain-smoking renegade of the reptile world”. He was a character among characters, as reptile enthusiasts often are; however, Karel took this to another level with his charis...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... a trip to Venezuela in 1987, Karel returned to Canada with two hatchling Orinoco Crocodiles (Fig. 2a). Karel landed in Miami and travelled to the Canada-U.S. border at Buffalo, NY. The hatchlings were not packed in a thermos, as is sometimes repeated in Serpentarium lore, but in a cloth bag and an aluminum box with perforated air holes − standard in those days in Czechoslovakia to pack food and the standard way Karel packed animals for ...
Context 2
... food for three months during acclimation. True to her time at the Serpentarium, Suede enjoys her fish and it took zookeepers buying Tilapia from the local market to get her eating. Being less discriminating, Blade took to rodents, chicken quarters, and all manner of food (the same is now true of Suede). The crocs were introduced in early 2012 (Fig. 2b) when Suede began to circle her enclosure, blow bubbles, and raise her head in courtship display. With the partition lifted, keepers waited with bated breath knowing the dicey situation that could arise from a large crocodilian introduction. A few nips aside, the pair mingled well and despite a few attempts by Blade to mount, Suede ...
Context 3
... water feature of her enclosure. In February of this year Suede began digging in her enclosure once again and went off feeding. Exactly one week later, during one the busiest weekends of year (Spring Break, 13 March 2016), zoo visitors were treated to watching Suede lay and cover her nest. Now at 29 years of age, Suede deposited a nest of 25 eggs (Fig. 2c). Again, many eggs were infertile and during her first terrestrial egg laying, multiple eggs were cracked. Alas, however, five eggs (four intact, one cracked) were confirmed as fertile and are currently incubating. Only a few weeks into incubation at the time of this writing, the future of the eggs remains uncertain. Following a 70-90 ...
