Crocodiles…Crocodiles…And More Crocodiles At Miri Crocodile Farm

It was on October 27 that I brought my wife for a visit to Miri Crocodile Farm. It was her birthday and it was a unique way to celebrate her birthday. For me, it was a trip down memory lane as my late dad used to rear quite a lot of crocodiles during our days in Bintangor. My dad was known as Bintangor’s Crocodile Man!

Miri Crocodile Farm, located at Lot 164, 24Km Miri-Kuala Baram Road, 98000 Miri, is the first and the largest Crocodile Farm in the northern region of Sarawak with a size of about 22 acres. This crocodile farm cum mini zoo is registered with and recognised by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, Registration No. A-MY-509).

From Miri, it is a pleasant scenic coastal 20-minute drive along Miri-Kuala Baram Road . Upon disembarking from our car, we saw a big fish pond with lots of water lilies. As we made your way towards the entrance of the farm, we saw a crocodile mascot on our right just by the side of the fish pond. On the left hand side, there is another fish pond with a wishing well near it.

As Malaysians, we only paid an entrance fee of RM19 each,  compared to RM26 or RM27 for foreigners. The entrance fee for children is much cheaper but I forgot exactly how much it is. Upon paying our entrance fee, we were each given a paper wristband to wear.

When we passed through the entrance, the first thing we saw was a small display hall cum shop where we saw stuffed crocodiles, newspaper cuttings about crocodiles, crocodile skins, small snakes in aquariums, souvenirs and the like.

Exiting the display hall, we saw another big fish pond with lotus plants and flowers and a lot of concrete crocodile enclosures and big man-made sanctuary ponds which are home to over 1,000 estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus Porosus) and Malayan Gharial (Tomistoma Schlegelii).

The crocodiles were lazing in the sun and seemed to be dozing and lifeless. But there were many crocodiles which had their jaws menancingly wide open. The big sanctuary pond houses lots of huge behemoths. I shudder to think what would happen if someone were to accidentally fall into one of these ponds!

There are some albino crocodiles at the farm. They look fairer than the normal crocodiles.

How ferocious the crocodiles can be is best seen during feeding time. A keeper stood on a wooden platform well protected by a barricade and banged a dead chicken against the wooden platform to attract the crocodiles’ attention. He then threw the chicken into the pond As the chicken hit the ground, a crocodile near where the chicken had landed lunged for the chicken at lightning fast speed and devoured it before a competitor could grab it from him, before retreating to the illusion of torpor.

A word of warning to visitors : Never put your hand over the fence as the crocodiles may jump and snap your hand.

The crocodiles are bred not only for conservation but also for their commercial value as their flesh is a delicacy for some people and their skin are valuable.

While we were walking around the farm, we saw a keeper feeding a sun bear with a bottle of milk. The sun bears live in concrete enclosures and look a bit forlorn. Maybe they are resigned to their fate of lifetime imprisonment in their pitiful enclosures.

Moving around the farm, we came face to face with some other animals such as Southern Cassowary, albino python, Binturong (bear cats), Borneon gibbons, porcupines, peacocks, parrots, hornbills, macaques, Sambar deers, horses, dairy cattle, sheep, Eastern chipmunk, guinea pigs, flying foxes, brown fish owls, hill myna, turtles, tortoises, civets, pigeons,  alligators, elmu, eagles and exotic birds. Keep a sharp lookout and you may see other things like spiders, dragon flies, snail eggs and lovely plants and weeds.

 

 

The farm is quite idyllic and I love the ambience there despite the hot weather. As a whole, we enjoyed the visit though the attitudes of a couple of workers at the farm leave a lot to be desired.