Rio Sierpe Crocodile Census

December 2006


Joe and Raynor Galooting
Joe Wasilewski preparing a catch pole
Joe and Mike Boston prepping the catch pole
Joe and Rayner checking out the first acutus of the night
Joe checking out the 'young-of-the-year' acutus

"Here's looking at you kid"
Joe explaining what measurements we'll be taking
Position the croc to determine the sex
Spreading the cloaca to evert the sex organ
Everting the musk glands

"It's a girl!"
Measuring snout-to-vent (SVL) length
Measuring total length
Measuring Total Head Length
Don Tuttle admiring his first crocodile

Getting ready to release back into the Rio Sierpe
Spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodylus) under mud bank
A closer pic
Measuring Total Length on a juvenile
Don ready to release the juvie

Rayner admiring a juvenile
Joe explaining the caudal scale clipping method
" 9 double right" is Rio Sierpe
Joe and Mike smile for a quick shot
The galootery has begun!

More Galootery!
Our Capitan, Jorge, ready to release a juvenile
Joe with a caiman after it's jaws were dislodged from Rayner's hand
Caiman's always smile!
Typical 'Eyeshine' indicating a crocodilian along the bank

The croc (caiman) isn't apparent until you get closer
A building in Sierpe overtaken by Stangler Figs (Ficus).
A dog with puppies lived inside the building
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Clam shells dumped on the marina ramp for traction.

Don and Jorge bringing the boat around to fix the hydraulic trim
Getting the boat up on a trailer
The truck was too small, so we hoisted the boat up by hand
Upper Rio Sierpe above Mapache Lodge
The banks of the upper Rio Sierpe

A juvenile croc in the upper Rio Sierpe
Another shot
.....and another
...and another
....and another ( you can never have too many croc pics!)

Palms along the bank of the Rio Ollas
Full moon
Perfect night for a boat ride!
Scales clipped for #14
Another view

9 Double Right, 1 Double left, 4 single.
Don Jorge, our Sierpe amigo!
Joe and Rayner
Large 2.5m croc along the lower Sierpe
Another shot

A closer look before it slid into the river
A nice place for a lodge
Isla Violina
Waterfall along the coastline of Corcovado between San Pedrillo and Rio Llorona
Corocovado National Park

Downtown Puerto Jimenez
The other end of the street
Rio Sierpe and Sierpe Village from the air.
Talamanca Mountains