Rocky is one of Koorana's star performers.

What do you do when you experience 11 years of drought and you’re trying to farm an animal that relies on annual rains to trigger sexual hormones? On a crocodile farm in Queensland, one man and his family are battling against the odds. For the Lever family, this year is the big one, no rain means no mating; no mating; no eggs; no eggs; no new stock, which means the farm won’t survive. Croc Country tells their story.


Preparing to harvest Mrs Robinson's eggs.

This mating season, croc farmer John Lever has all of his hopes set on a promising young stud named Rocky, but Rocky has a shady past. Last year he chewed up his partner. This year John is going to give him an older, more mature female - Mrs. Robinson. But is Rocky ready to take direction from the opposite sex? New recruit Cassie Schulz is on a steep learning curve too. To boost dwindling numbers on the farm, she’s been asked to go on a croc muster further north. She puts the blokes to shame and catches one that is two metres long. While the wranglers return to the farm, a bus load of tourists are waiting to be entertained and once again its Cassie’s turn to take the lead. Cassie takes her first night tour, and John does his rounds on the farm, he is delighted to find his new couple, Rocky and Mrs. Robinson in the throes of passion. This signals a positive start to the season.


Rocky close up.


John on a crocodile round-up, which he hopes will boost dwindling numbers on the farm.

This mating season croc farmer John Lever's got all his hopes set on a promising young stud named Rocky, but Rocky's got a shady past. Last year he chewed up his partner. This year, John's decided to give him an older, more mature female – Mrs Robinson. But is Rocky ready to take direction from the opposite sex?


Mrs Robinson will be exhausted after laying her eggs, but Rocky has taken on a protective role.

New recruit Cassie Schultz is on a steep learning curve, too. To boost dwindling numbers on the farm she's been asked to go on a croc muster further north. She puts the blokes to shame and catches a croc that's two metres long. When the wranglers return to the farm, a bus load of tourists are waiting to be entertained and, once again, it's Cassie's turn to take the lead.

While Cassie takes her first night tour, John does his rounds and is delighted to find his new couple, Rocky and Mrs Robinson, in the throes of passion. It's a positive start to the season, but will Rocky actually do his job? Will Mrs Robinson's eggs be fertile?


Mrs Robinson won't be hurried when it comes to laying her eggs.



croc round up

Nest Raiders

The nesting season has arrived, but not all John's breeders are building their nests. The more mature females, like Mrs Robinson, are waiting for the annual rains. While the family waits for the next clutches of eggs to collect, John and Jason head up river to remove a rogue croc from a popular fishing area. Trapping a three-metre croc is one thing – getting it home is another. A bumpy but short plane trip back home sees the rogue female in a safer place, where she won't be exterminated by worried fishermen.


Raiding a nest.

After learning the art of nest-raiding, it's time for Cassie to practice handfeeding the big crocs. Tourists expect to see the guides get up close and personal with these giants; so John takes Cassie inside Rocky's enclosure and shows her how it's done.

Finally, some later rain stimulates Mrs Robinson into egg-laying. She produces a bumper crop and all the eggs are fertile. Rocky and Mrs Robinson's offspring could well be the future breeding champions of Koorana.


John checks Rocky and Mrs Robinson's eggs in the farm's incubating room.

On the farm, space and building materials are at a premium for crocodiles as well as humans when nesting begins.

Slowly the females begin building elaborate nests, piling sticks, mud and leaf litter into huge mounds raised above the water. Like all reptiles' eggs, baby crocs actually breathe through the shell, which means that they drown if the nest is flooded. Koorana's estuaries experience three metre tides. It's vital that females build safe nests; any nests below the high-tide will be doomed.


Mrs Robinson on her nest.


The farm from the air.


Mrs Robinson laying her eggs at last.

John has to figure out how to get some fresh water into the wallows where expectant mothers lie waiting for more rain. Fresh water in this area can get extremely low and with only a small water licence from the local council John will have to ration carefully. He takes a garden hose and begins the slow process of filling each mother's wallow. It's not unusual for John to pay for a load of water to be delivered when there's not enough rain over a season.


This 'salty' is ill and hasn't eaten for a couple of months.


Jason must feed the sick crocodile by hand.

The break in the torrential rain has disrupted the females' laying process. While many have gone through the motions of building a nest, not all of them have eggs to lay. If climatic conditions aren't right mothers can, amazingly, terminate their pregnancy by reabsorbing their eggs. During periods of drought, wild females may mate and reabsorb their eggs in successive breeding seasons until the year when the rains come.

However, much to John's relief Mrs Robinson has finally begun laying. Awash with maternal hormones she enters a deep trance-like state, a behavioural switch that channels all her energy into laying. John and Jason sit very close by, counting the clutch as the eggs emerge. Paradoxically, Mrs Robinson remains aware of the humans the entire time; her eyes follow John as he quietly moves around her, checking her condition. A big clutch numbers around 70. The instant the last egg is laid Mrs Robinson's hormonal balance will shift and she'll emerge from her trance extraordinarily protective of the nest and aggressive towards intruders.


This female has been working for nearly a month scratching up her huge nest.

A rogue croc is at large and the authorities call on John and his Crocodile Removal Service to assist. The drive to reproduce has driven a big wild male on the trail of females to roam up the Fitzroy River. A male this size normally defends a 15 kilometre stretch with a female spaced every kilometre – but this croc's search for mates has taken him in the direction of a remote picnic spot.

In any one season the Crocodile Removal Service might be called out a dozen times. This time, John doesn't manage to trap the big male he was after, but does capture a female that was also a threat. From now on she'll spend her days on the farm laying eggs.


croc on her nest.

In the wild, too much sun, or too little, will kill developing embryos. But temperature plays another, even more sophisticated role. On the farm, John can control the gender of the embryos by manipulating the temperature of his incubators. John's incubators will produce around 80% males and 20% females – a balance between the fast-growing, marketable males and the smaller females which he needs for breeding stock. At the nursery John sets his incubators for 32.5 and dials boys.

BABY DINOSAURS

"Incredibly, sex can be determined by temperature. There are 200 eggs in here, each clutch lies in its own labelled tray, and every egg has the characteristic white band around the centre, telling me that the embryo is alive. But once they hatch, these young must acclimatise to ever-changing conditions."

John Lever stands knee deep in water at the nursery of his crocodile farm, surrounded by the 'one-year-olds'. The farmhands form a line at arm's length from each other leading from John to his son, Jason. John catches one wriggling hatchling and passes it to the first farmhand then on down the line finally reaching Jason who places it into its new home.


Restraining a male croc for fertility testing.


Goorganga.


As the clutches of eggs hatch one-by-one, Wendy and Cassie release the healthy ones into the main tank.

Some of the young crocs are nearly half a metre long and need to be handled using a special grip. They snap and screech at the guys, who are no longer fazed by this – they know it's important to work quickly and smoothly to minimise stress on the young animals.

The nursery tanks will be repaired where necessary in readiness for the new hatchlings, who are about to emerge from their 80 days of incubation. The incubator is humid and well lit. A constant temperature of 32.5 degrees ensures that the majority of the hatchlings will be male.

But John's high expectations for a good season are dashed by the number of infertile eggs, deformities and infant mortalities.

In the wild, there can be big changes in temperatures in the nest which will cause deformities. But, here, the temperatures in the incubators are very precisely controlled. And that should rule out the possibility of deformities."

Perhaps the problem lies with the crocs themselves. It means that the overall yield will be down. John needs to take swift action to solve the hatchling dilemma.

Jason wrestles the thrashing croc Rasputin onto his back, so John can take a sample of his semen – it's a painless, if undignified procedure for the croc. Lab testing will determine whether Rasputin has defective or infertile sperm.

When the results of Rasputin's sperm tests come through, they reveal the stud male is a 'dud male'. His sperm shows high levels of abnormalities.

The croc's penis is also a rich source of cartilage, which contains anti-carcinogens. Researchers are investigating the possibility of using products developed from croc cartilage for cancer treatments. Traditionally, shark cartilage has been used, but scientists from the University of Queensland have discovered the same properties in crocs.


A female croc exposes her jaw.

Finally it's time to move Goorganga, a large male who has spent the summer keeping males away from the females he regards as his own. Jason attempts to catch the big guy but fails. On the second attempt he gets him and they drag Goorganga into his new home next to Rocky – where he will become a top tourist attraction.

Hatchlings are emerging now and it's Cassie and Wendy's job to release these little guys into their new home. It won't be long before Rocky and Mrs Robinson's hatchlings emerge. John checks on their progress in the incubator.

LIFE AND DEATH

Inside the incubator Rocky and Mrs Robinson's eggs are close to hatching. With his ear to the shell, John can hear their muffled birth calls as the eggs begin to crack. When the hatchlings emerge it's an immediate relief to see they are big and healthy. Nipping John's finger, the little males exhibit all the aggression of their infamous father Rocky, a result which translates to excellent prospects for survival.

As they rest in the shallow trays of water John shows how the egg yolks are now visible beneath the thin layer of skin over the hatchlings' stomachs. They will provide sustenance for the first few days of life.


The egg yolk remains in the hatchling's stomach and will nourish it for up to a month.


Croc Country

Finally the heavens open and Koorana is inundated with the last rain storm of the wet season. The mating season is over, so all it does is make the crocs restless.

Celebration time has arrived. After a busy harvest it's time for the Koorana gang to let off steam. They go to the local rodeo and Jason gets thrown off a young steer.

The next morning disaster strikes when Cassie discovers Rocky has broken down his fence and gone next door to challenge his new neighbour, Goorganga. They must get Rocky out before another fight ensues. It takes three hours to get the noose over his top jaw but once they do it Rocky sinks in to the water and the tug of war begins, lasting for four long hours. Occasionally he emerges and charges, sending the handlers scrambling back towards the fence. The seven-hour struggle proves one thing; crocodiles are a lot smarter then we think.


John breeds his own crocodiles - very few have been taken from the wild.


After several hours of searching for Goorganga Jason finally locates him. It doesn't look good. Closer inspection reveals the big male has been drowned by Rocky. The Koorana team are devastated. After a low yield, losing their star tourist attraction is the last thing John and Lillian need.

Long after everyone else has gone to bed John Lever is still working. He carries Rocky's hatchlings to their new heated spa-house and then he does the nightly rounds on his crocs.

"We've been farming crocs for 30 years but we still have a lot to learn. Every year I learn something new. Crocodiles are some of the best survivors in the world. And to do that, you need to possess some special qualities; patience, persistence, behaviour, adaptation to changing environments. And boy, are they great adaptors! Bit like me, I guess."


For the farm to survive, Koorana has to bring forth a lot of young.


A yearling croc.


After 80 days in the incubator, Koorana's hatchlings are making a break for freedom.


Cassie shares a very special moment with a group of tourists.


Wendy looks after the babies.


Hatchlings in the tank.


Croc's eye close up.


Another group of visitors to the farm sees a 'baby dinosaur' emerge.



The end result of the farming activity is skin and meat.


Four of Rocky and Mrs Robinson's hatchlings visit their mum and dad.


Hatchling up close