15,000 Crocodiles Escape Farm Into South African River

A South African crocodile farm is facing a large problem after 15,000 of the animals escaped from the site and made their way into the nearby Limpopo River. The crocs made their dash for freedom when massive floodwaters forced the farmers to open their gates in an effort to avoid those waters from crushing the walls of the enclosures. Most of the animals made their way to the wild bush along the river, which could serve as the perfect home for the massive predators.

A spokesperson for the farm says that they have managed to capture several thousand of the runaway crocs, but they estimated that about half of the escapees were still at large. The farm staff is rounding them up as quickly as they can, but considering the large number of animals that escaped, it is a challenging job.

The escaped crocs are all Nile crocodiles, the species that is most common in Africa. Capable of growing up to 18 feet in length and weighing as much as 1700 pounds, they are the largest freshwater crocs in the world. They are also known for being voracious predators, attacking nearly any other animals (including humans) that wander into or near the waters where they make their home.

The Limpopo River is one of the great waterways of southern Africa, meandering for more than 1000 miles across the region. The river flows into South Africa‘s northeast corner along the border of its famous Kruger National Park, a remote wilderness that would provide plenty of prey for the escaped crocs. The predators are not unknown to the Limpopo, but until now their numbers have been relatively small. That could change if these animals are not rounded up.

Thanks to our friends at Outside Online for sharing this story.

[Photo Credit: Sarah McCans]

Egypt’s newest public wonder: the temple of the crocodile god

Last week a new ancient site opened to the public in Egypt–a temple of the crocodile god Sobek.

Medinet Madi is located in Egypt’s Faiyum region, a fertile area around a lake at the end of a branch of the Nile called Bahr Yusuf (“The River of Joseph”).

The temple features a long avenue lined with sphinxes and lions, plus an incubation room for hatching the eggs of sacred crocodiles. You’d think these crocs would live the good life, splashing around the swamps and gnawing on a sacrificial victim or two. Instead they were mummified and sold to pilgrims. Check out the gallery for a couple of photos of crocodile mummies.

Sobek was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. He’s generally pictured with the body of a man and the head of a crocodile. He’s said to have created the Earth when he laid eggs in the primordial waters, and the Nile is supposed to be his sweat. He’s the god of the Nile, the Faiyum, and of course crocodiles.

In ancient times the Nile and the lush wetlands of the Faiyum were full of crocodiles. The people prayed to Sobek to appease them. Because he was a fierce god, he was one of the patrons of the ancient Egyptian army.

Sobek’s temple at Medinet Madi was built by the pharaohs Amenemhat III (c.1859-1813 BC) and Amenemhat IV (c.1814-1805 BC) during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom and expanded during the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC) after Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great.

The temple is also dedicated to the cobra-headed goddess Renenutet, who in some traditions was Sobek’s wife. Despite her appearance, she was a much kinder deity than Sobek, a sort of mother goddess who nursed babies and gave them their magical True Name. Farmers liked her because cobras ate the rats that would eat their crops.

%Gallery-123603%The new tourist site was funded by Italy, which coughed up €3.5 million ($5 million) to clear off the sand and restore the temple. Italian archaeologists have been working in the area for decades and in addition to the Sobek temple they’ve found a Roman military camp and ten early Coptic Christian churches dating from the 5th-7th century AD.

Medinet Madi isn’t the only crocodile temple. Not far away stands Crocodilopolis, where Egyptians honored the sacred crocodile Petsuchos by sticking gold and gemstones into its hide. There are several other Sobek temples along the Nile, the most impressive being Kom Ombo far to the south near Aswan.

Kom Ombo is one of Egypt’s most fascinating temples. It’s rather new as Egyptian temples go–being founded in the second century BC by the Ptolemaic dynasty. Carvings of Sobek and other deities adorn the walls and columns. There are also some scenes from daily life. On the inner face of the outer corridor keep an eye out for a carving showing a frightening array of old surgeon’s tools. Also check out the small shrine to Hathor in the temple compound where piles of sacred crocodiles from the nearby necropolis are kept.

[Photo courtesy Hedwig Storch]