WILD

By 1970 the situation in Lake St. Lucia had become desperate. With salinity reaching critical levels, due to afforestation and other man-made changes, the crocodiles were rapidly dying. Newspaper headlines reported that St Lucia would be dead in a matter of months. The government of South Africa talked a lot about saving the lake, even declared 1970 the year of water. But there was no money, and no action. In fact, more afforestation was going on, exacerbating an already bad situation. In September of 1970, Ian Player, not satisfied to watch this environmental disaster unfold in front of him, approached Brigadier James Blatt (Officer Commanding Natal Command), and explained the urgency of the situation. By the morning of 4 September 1970, Ian had a Super Frelon helicopter and a team of 30 white and black volunteer rangers. They netted the crocs and pulled them ashore – an extremely dangerous and life-risking task! The crocodiles were never drugged, and only had thick cloths draped over the heads to subdue them. Many weighed at least 1,000 lbs. Each was wrapped in canvas and winched to the lower part of the helicopter and flown to a nearby fresh water stream (the Mkazama stream), where more rangers were waiting to offload and release. After sliding into the fresh water, the huge reptiles drank their fill and became visibly bloated before slowly swimming off. Over 50 large, mature breeding crocodiles were saved that day. This huge conservation accomplishment is just one of many in Ian’s astounding conservation career. Read more about Ian’s work at wild.org.

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