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Crocodiles attract Tourists to Mexico
Guerrero State, Aug 06: Mexico`s answer to the Crocodile Hunter attracts thousands of tourists each year with dozens of crocodiles named after soccer players.
Guerrero State, Aug 06: Mexico's answer to the Crocodile Hunter attracts thousands of tourists each year with dozens of crocodiles named after soccer players.
"Aaaaauuuaaa-uuuaaa," cries out Erroberto "Tamacun" Piza Rios, while he stares at the emerald waters of the Playa Linda (Plah-yah Leen-dah) reserve along the Ixtapa (Eeks-tapa) beach, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) south of Mexico's tourist hotspot, Acapulco.
Slowly, crocodiles up to five meters long (16.40 feet), emerge from the water, heeding his call.
The reptiles surround Piza Rios who has become Mexico's answer to Australia's Crocodile Hunter, hired to ensure the animals do not escape the reserve. "The Tarzan scream is like a referee's whistle, which invites players (referring to the crocodiles) to gather around me," Piza Rios said. "I then calls the players by their names, and they answer to this call and join to train before the match."
Tamacun, who is blind in one eye, rewards his loyal crocodiles with loads of fresh fish, as tourists ask him to be careful. Visitors to the park often gaze in amazement as Tamacun lies across the backs of the crocodiles while they eat.
The 66-year-old man receives about $317 USD a month from the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo municipality to entertain tourists and stop the crocodiles from fleeing the reserve. Ixtapa residents' main source of income is tourism and Tamacun's crocodiles are a major attraction, with some 350,000 people visiting the beach resort every year.
Of the 80 crocodiles that live in the reserve, the Mexican "Crocodile Dundee" says he has raised 47. Tamacun, a name he chose for himself in honour of an African athlete whom he has always admired, named his trained crocodiles after the players from Mexico's soccer team America, his favorite soccer club.
Tamacun said he realized that he could communicate with animals early on in his life.
"I started grabbing all kind of animals and they didn't bite me: snakes, spiders, eagles, crocodiles, boas, vipers. They didn't harm me," said Tamacun, dressed in his America's soccer uniform.
Tamacun wants to broaden his horizon and swim with the reptiles, but says he needs a clean place to do it so the crocodiles can recognize him.
Because he's such a popular figure, local authorities are considering to move the animals to a new area, giving Tamacun a new site where he can perform his new act. Bureau Report
Slowly, crocodiles up to five meters long (16.40 feet), emerge from the water, heeding his call.
The reptiles surround Piza Rios who has become Mexico's answer to Australia's Crocodile Hunter, hired to ensure the animals do not escape the reserve. "The Tarzan scream is like a referee's whistle, which invites players (referring to the crocodiles) to gather around me," Piza Rios said. "I then calls the players by their names, and they answer to this call and join to train before the match."
Tamacun, who is blind in one eye, rewards his loyal crocodiles with loads of fresh fish, as tourists ask him to be careful. Visitors to the park often gaze in amazement as Tamacun lies across the backs of the crocodiles while they eat.
The 66-year-old man receives about $317 USD a month from the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo municipality to entertain tourists and stop the crocodiles from fleeing the reserve. Ixtapa residents' main source of income is tourism and Tamacun's crocodiles are a major attraction, with some 350,000 people visiting the beach resort every year.
Of the 80 crocodiles that live in the reserve, the Mexican "Crocodile Dundee" says he has raised 47. Tamacun, a name he chose for himself in honour of an African athlete whom he has always admired, named his trained crocodiles after the players from Mexico's soccer team America, his favorite soccer club.
Tamacun said he realized that he could communicate with animals early on in his life.
"I started grabbing all kind of animals and they didn't bite me: snakes, spiders, eagles, crocodiles, boas, vipers. They didn't harm me," said Tamacun, dressed in his America's soccer uniform.
Tamacun wants to broaden his horizon and swim with the reptiles, but says he needs a clean place to do it so the crocodiles can recognize him.
Because he's such a popular figure, local authorities are considering to move the animals to a new area, giving Tamacun a new site where he can perform his new act. Bureau Report