3 Weeks and 6 Crocodile Species: Searching for Africa's Crocodiles in Gabon & Cote d'Ivoire

When you think of adventurous destinations, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or trekking to Machu Picchu come to mind. Both are challenging, but how about exploring a place that is a little more "off the beaten path"? 

We were on a mission to see, photograph, and film 6 of Africa’s 7 crocodile species. I hear you: “Hey, why not all 7?!” Well, the 7th one will be more of a crazy adventure. The scientist that helped us set up this crazy adventure told me “if you thought finding these 6 crocodiles was hard, it’s even harder to get into the Congo and track down the Congo Dwarf Crocodile.” So, finding the 7th species will be it’s own epic adventure.

I’ve been working with crocodilians for over 20 years, and I hesitate to admit that I remember (back in the day…) when Africa only had 3 species of crocodiles. Now there are 7! Or at least there will be. The work of formally recognizing 3 different species of forest or dwarf crocodiles is in progress.

This trip happened a little quicker than expected: the crazy idea to go to West and Central Africa started in May. Then in September the plan was a GO, and we were booking flights to Gabon and Cote d’Ivoire!

The plan was to fly to Gabon and find: Central African Slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops leptorhycus), Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus), and Dwarf Crocodiles (Osteolaemus tetraspis).

Then to fly to Cote d’Ivoire to attend the Osteolaemus Red List Workshop to meet other experts in their fields, and to get into a room to discuss a plan for the conservation of 3 species of Dwarf crocodiles, or Forest crocodiles as some called them. After some hard work in front of computers, debates, and peer reviews, the plan was to travel out to see the West African Slender-snouted crocodiles (Mecistops cataphractus), West African crocodiles (Crocodylus suchus), and another species of Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus afzelii).

Another aspect of this is to share the stories of these African crocodiles. Not all of them are man-eaters like the Nile crocodile. The Dwarf crocodiles and sometimes slender-snouted crocodiles are caught and found in the bushmeat trade. The West African crocodile is the “crocodile of the people” as my scientist friend would say, found living near people without posing much of a threat to them. (Dr Matt Shirley gets the credit for the tagline).

The journey was never easy and there were many times where things would fall apart, only to change to our benefit. The journey was a whirlwind of emotions and experiences, that makes me want to go back and experience it again.  If asked to return, without a doubt, I would say yes and oui, s’il vous plait!

I can’t wait to share every high and low with you, share travel tips that might be useful for your trip, and to share the stories of these beautiful crocodiles.

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