The Nile Crocodiles of Tana

Image credit: Tracks and Trails

There was a growing frustration among the people by the Tana River. On one hand, culture demanded that they preserve their ancestral home by living there and growing in number. On the other hand, they lacked peace due to the notorious Nile Crocodiles that hid in the waters of the river where the people fetched their water. If it wasn’t the crocodiles, it was the floods… but it was mostly the crocodiles. 

The community was often filled with distress. Members disappeared, and if no human carcass was found, the worst was assumed: they’d been dragged into the waters, killed, devoured. The Nile Crocs had devoured more than half their population, not sparing children or women. Some people had escaped their deathly jaws, but returned to the community to die from blood loss or infections. Very few lived, though without a limb here, going about their day in silence as though the crocs had taken their voices too. 

On one morning after the floods from a week before had cleared out, a baby crocodile was found ten feet from the community. A boy had spotted it, and the warriors had rallied ready to attack the deadly creature. They killed it almost instantly but worried that it’s mother would be lurking around. This created an environment of trepidation. The elders called for a baraza and agreed to inform the Kenya Wildlife Service, but a week passed, and then another, but there was no intervention. They knew they were on their own, and organized to defend themselves.  

What was decided was that each night two or three warriors would keep vigil to restore a feeling of security among the people. The dead crocodile was kept in an empty hut, away from the sun, so that it would be preserved. The people were still hopeful the wildlife rangers would come to their rescue, and so they kept it as proof of their dilemma. 

It was hope that kept them eager. In the month that followed, the warriors hunted two more crocodiles, one of which was found with eggs. They weren’t sure what to do with them. If they hatched, they’d be breeding crocodiles… was that humanely possible? If they burned them, they’d be destroying proof. So, what then? 

A baraza was called and the elders decided to rear half the eggs, and keep the creatures trapped when they hatched, and explore the exterior of their communal lands to see if there was a market for crocodile eggs. As for the dead crocodiles in storage, it was agreed that they would be skinned, and their leather used as raw materials. This decision impacted the beginning of the crocodile rearing and trading enterprise for the community in Tana River. 

In this way they stayed true to their ancestry and created livelihoods from the notorious Nile Crocs that initially crippled them with fear. 

Image credit; Storyteller Travel