THE CAPTURE OF CROCODILES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1626, 29 April 1903, Page 66 (Supplement)

THE CAPTURE OF CROCODILES

Unlike the majority of animal trainers, M. Pernelet believes personally in first catching his own crocodile. Ho does net keliovo in purchasing them from dealers, but prefers to visit Africa •or America himself when ho wishes to 4p.ako recruits for his curious army. Ho is, as would naturally bo expected, a man of tho utmost nerve, courage and wi!i power, and at the present moment nearly every crocodile ho possesses has cnginally been caught by his own hands. His methods are of the utmost simplicity. With the assistance of a native guide, lie makes his way along the banks of a river, whore the crocodiles lie like lc pped-off tree branches, awaiting their prey in deceitful lethargy. Originally, M. Pernelet attempted to capture them by the use of strong nets, but it soon became apparent that, such a system was useless, for in many instances tho savage beasts tore the nets to pieces, while in most, of tl>e remainder they were so maimed and mangled in their attempts to escape that they had to be killed outright. Next. M. Pernelet had RESORT TO THE LASSO, which proved equally unsatisfactory, for tho desperate contortions of the captured anima.l generally fixed the knot of the rope so tightly arcrund its neck that it was an utter impossibility to untie it, with tho result that both 9tuina.l and lasso were lost. Ultimately, M. Pernelet hit upon a method of entrapping them —simple but ingenious. The tenacity of the crocodile is proverbial. Once its teeth are fixed in any object, it hangs on with the utmost desperation. M. Pernelet’s method is to use as bait a small piece of wood at the end of a rope. Master crocodile innocently seizes the wood, and his captor gradually draws him away from the bank of the river. Then the crocodile is lured by slow degrees to a. rectangular box, into which his head is inserted. At both ends of the box there arc holes, so that the crocodile, seeing the light beyond, feels perfectly safe, and lumbers its ugly carcase inside. The moment it goes within, both ends are scoured, and the crocodile is boxed up ready for shipment abroad.—From the “Windsor M egazi ne. ’ ’