From Love FM ......Nichols believes that people and crocodiles can live peacefully together but simple rules must be followed. Crocodiles can be unpredictable if they are molested and are capable of defending themselves if they feel that their nest, their young, or their territory is threatened, so stay away. Be aware and stay clear of female crocodiles with young, they are very protective, not just the parents but large crocodiles will come to help if they think there is a threat to the young. Do not swim or splash on the surface if you know there are crocodiles in the area. Large crocodiles mark their territory and challenge rivals to fight by splashing their chins on the surface. Keep pets away especially at night when crocodiles are most active. Do not throw rubbish along the water edges and most importantly never feed wild crocodiles as they may associate humans with food and start coming closer and closer to the water edges looking for food. Nicholas says that to avoid having the crocodiles he feeds from associating people with food, he feeds them in the cages at night so they don’t see where the food comes from. The Belize Crocodile Creche is funded by local and international organizations and businesses. Plans are underway for a school visiting program and for the construction of an artificial beach that will serve as an incubator so more studies can be done to better understand one of the worlds most ancient specie.”

Thank you, Barbara K, for the info on crocodiles. I agree whole heartedly that people and all animals can live together....it's just a matter of respecting them and their territory.

That said, I'm curious as to whether one will actually encounter a crocodile while swimming off shore. I'm planning to be in Belize in April (first timer) and I've been visiting this site in attempt to learn all I can about Belize. This is such an informative website!!! Being from Pittsburgh, I've never had the opportunity to meet a crocodile in person.

Also, I'm wondering about stingrays. Can one swim up to a stingray and touch them. If you are kind and respectful of them, will they sting you?

I'm such a lover of animals and hope to meet all kinds of new creatures. Can anyone tell me where I might see a Dolphin? Or seaturtles? What other animals might I want to seek out while in Belize?

Thanks again for the info.

The crocs are on the lagoon side so don't swim there! I posted that because there is a curious "game" many tourists have decided to play - which is feeding a croc that hangs out by the road on the back side of the island. They actually BUY raw chicken breasts from restaurants to feed him!! It is a (BAD) accident waiting to happen!

Yes, you can swim with sharks & rays on some of the snorkeling trips. There is not a special area set up to swim with dolphins but you do often see them and can swim with them if you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. You may see sea turtles but probably not.

Turtles are a pretty special & relatively rare occurrence for snorkelers, but I gotta tell ya - everytime I've been up to Bacalar Chico I've seen at least one little fella. And man can those dudes swim fast!

from a very good friend...
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If the tourists (and locals) keep fooling around with crocodiles someone (probably a local kid) is gonna get hurt... badly!
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when the crocs equate humans with food, its not good.

Feeding crocs?? Crazy people!!

I know that in Hawaii that there is a law that you cannot approach dolphins (it may be a state or federal law, so this might be a moot point...) but I was wondering if there are similar laws in Belize about dolphins?

Oh, and BTW, I thought crocodiles were freshwater animals. Isn't the lagoon saltwater?

(Excuse me if I am just displaying my ignorance here. I've done a lot of research about AC in preparation for our trip, but I am missing a lot of info still )

We have morlets croc which you'll find in fresh, brackish and salt water-ish lagoons, rivers, creeks and inlets; and salt water species, which are the ones behind the cayes, on the atolls, etc.

klcman,
I agree the turtles can swim FAST!! I was one of the lucky ones to see a turtle in the shallow reefs. It was the sight of a lifetime. I've seen them a million times in captivity, but to see one in the wild swim right by you is riveting.!

I was lucky enough to see this fella (or maybe gal) at Tres Cocos at about 60' deep. At first he took off like a bat out of hell, but then came back and swam slowly through our whole group, moving his head from side to side, checking everybody out. Was definitely the highlight of my dives.

Thanks, Barbara K, for the info. I sure hope to see a croc (from a distance) and all the other neat creatures of Belize.

Great photo of the sea turtle!! If I happen to see one while in Belize, I will feel truly blessed.

http://www.planeta.com/planeta/98/0898crocs.html is very informative...our Ambergris Caye saltwater crocs are American Crocodiles.

The Morelets are found inland in freshwater environs.

I've had a couple of experiences like that with turtles off SP. The last time, the turtle came and swam with me for more than 5 minutes. It appeared to be bigger than the one shown and kept stretching its head over towards mine. This, of course, caused me to move my head back. I wasn't quite sure whether he was after a kiss or was going to take a chomp out of my hose(s). I broke it off with the turtle to give some of the other divers a chance, but he took off without trying to nuzzle them too.

And looking at this picture, I'm trying to figure out just how the DM was keeping his fins on. Is that Marciano?

Interesting read, seashell.

Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words Marsali. Another thing that was amusing about that incident, were the two remora that kept swimming about and trying to get attached. The turtle's fin would often bat them off just as they were about to attach to its underside. I never did figure out, whether or not, the turtle was batting them about deliberately or it was just coincidence. I certainly kept half an eye on the remora too, because I've seen some of the smaller ones try to attach themselves to divers as well.

And it's pretty darned funny . . . when you see them trying to attach to another diver, not when they are trying to attach to oneself, that is.

Yes, that is Marciano! How he doesn't loose a fin I have no idea...

Someone needs to get him some Mares straps to go with those Volos.

Or maybe he doesn't need the straps, he needs booties to go onto his feet and into the footpockets.

Marciano's a great DM--tons of fun and about as much experience as anyone on AC. He found both turtles and nurse sharks for my kids to see and did a great job with us as a family. And he never uses his fin straps, just rams his ham-sized feet in the pockets and takes off. I think it's suction. He works, for those of you who don't know him, at Amigos. I already made sure he'd be available for us this year.

He also took a deaf/mute kid named Sherwood (he went by several names it seemed--different ones with different people) out with us several times. He's a local who can't go to school because they've no way to cope with his disabilities--he spends his days hanging around and helping out on the dock at the dive shop. Sherwood's a good diver (I think Marciano taught him) and the folks at Amigos have developed a pseudo-sign language they use to communicate with him. He fell in with my kids and they really got along so Marciano made sure he got on the boats with us. I hope he's there again when we get down in March. We almost wanted to bring him home with us. Man, he'd hate the snow here.

Sorry, pretty unrelated to the thread but just something I wanted to share about the genuinely kind and caring people that make up San Pedro.