Reptile Fire 2

Today we slept in late, I woke up at about 11:00am and Donna was already up, cleaning out a horse trough so we could take to Danny and Debbie's to house one of the crocs that survived. I went to brush my teeth, picked out some clothes I knew could be DESTROYED, put some "foo-foo" in my armpits, grabbed a couple of bandannas to cover our faces, and we took off to go help Danny and Debbie clean up, rescue, recover, manage, re-locate, and just try to bring some sanity to this chaos that has been their last week.

When we drove up, Danny, Debbie, and some of their family were already busy at work, and I put on my gloves and jumped in.

I was hoping that I would be able to go over and help in the process of recovering the animals so that Danny nor Debbie would have to experience that. I thought this might be a good thing to "manage" while they took care of other things.

I showed up, went to help Danny take off a collapsed roof, and in the first 5 minutes of being there, Danny and I pulled back a roof to find two dead Cayman crocodiles.... It was horrible!! They were almost frozen in time and were completely burned... Terrible!

I was concerned about posting these pictures because I thought it might be offensive to Debbie and Danny....After being assured by Danny that it was OK, I went ahead and posted these.

I was so heartbroken and I looked at Danny and said ...

"Hey man, you really don't need to experience this...Let me handle this and you go take care of something else."

he said...

"No man, it sucks, but I have to deal with it. I know...it sucks!"

I realized then that it was very important to him to recover all the animals he could...To account for each one of them.... I decided that I need to make this my mission!

So I went on the recovery part, climbed in to some really scary and ABSOLUTELY devastating scenes. As I was working my way through all of the destruction, I would find old artifacts, masks, things that came from Aboriginal tribes and African tribes that were just destroyed....these are things one CANT replace... Man, what a REALLY HEAVY day!

Walrus skull with destroyed tusks:

Ivory Walrus Tusks....Crumbled in your hands

Hippo skull:

Rhino skull with teeth crumbling

Various artifacts and skulls:

More artifacts and some masks:

I do have to say, Danny and Debbie were really great. They knew the mission at hand and were focused on getting things done....I really think, from my professional opinion, they are staying sooooo busy so they can avoid the shock....They have not rested enough for this to hit them!

Danny walked outside to get me so I could go help him relocate a croc. As he walked up to me he said....

"Why is it this is my place and everyone I see is dirtier than me?"

And I said....

"Because its you that's suffering the most!"

Man, I just cannot express in words, pictures, or video...This has just got to be HORRIBLE for them!

In the process of cleaning up, we had to create places to put the survivors. Danny and Debbie put three crocs in their spare bedroom last night to try and nurse them through, and it was time to move one of the crocs that was in good shape.

Donna and I brought a trough to put this croc in and Danny decided that it would be  best for ME to move that croc to its new home...Of course I was up for the challenge...Little did I know!

As I think about it today, I wathched them and thought what it must be like for them going through this??? I mean, these loving, caring, heartfelt people, who had to watch that fire unfold.... I guess it becomes worse as I write it and it comes out....Every experience there has left me reflecting and empathizing.

As I worked my way through the destruction, I found a cayman....Then I found a viper....then we found another Cayman....Danny was there for each recovery....

His sisters showed up and as each animal was recovered, they took a white sheet, covered the animal and took it away to a truck. I don't think any of us knew what was the "right" decision in this.

I asked Danny if I could take pictures and he assure me it was ok, and that the might become helpful in the insurance claim. It was hard to take the pictures and not feel guilty for taking the pictures... Eventually, you just get numb...

We got to a point where we had to move some crocs. The ones in Danny's house...

As we walked up to Danny's house, he said...

"We have a new problem"

Scared, I said...

"Oh yeah, what is that?"

That salty we put in that tank last night, well she is out now and her jaw isn't taped shut."

This salty is like 6-7ft long and 225lbs....She is a MONSTER, and she is in a bedroom, mouth open, ready to bite!

We moved her into a large trough last night and she was fine....Until she hit the water and then she EXPLODED, flipping, tossing...MY GOD these animals are powerful!

We walked into the house and to the bedroom, I opened the door and saw this....

The salty is ON TOP of the croc we need to get....Her mouth is open, and those two crocs don't like each other....

Yeah, I am a Liiiiiittttle nervous!

I have not spent much time around Danny, but I have spent enough that I know he would not put me in a situation I couldn't handle... I have a HUGE respect for these animals, and he knows it. If Danny said I could handle it, I have n doubts I can!

Except for jusssst a little bit! ;)

We go into the bedroom and the video really tells the story. I had to "nudge the large croc of the smaller one and I don't think the video captures the hisses or the growls these animals make.... I am sure I will experience it again in my dreams! In this capture, the small croc hit my hand with her head... She hit it soooo hard, it actually bruised the palm of my hand. I cannot imagine the power of a LARGE crocodile/alligator.....They truly are the ultimate killing machines!! SUPREME predators for sure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJOy8-Flv0E

The video cant express the adrenaline rush knowing I am less than 3 feet from a 6-7ft croc, fighting a 5ft one....and LOSING!!

If that big girl wold have spun around on us, one of us would have been torn up!

We got the Brazilian croc out and in her cage and she was completely content...She is a truly beautiful and magnificent animal!

Debbie had to move a trailer (Thank God for RedNecks! ;) )

So Donna and I went to help her manage her horses whole they worked. These poor horses have experienced a fire, the smells of a fire, lights, sounds, smells......To bring some machine in with them might freak them out, so we went and worked horses a little while some other tasks got attended to! So we got to spend some time with Debbie's wonderful babies.

There were also some survivors of the fire and destruction....Some artifacts were saved and some animals made it through with no harm at all. I didn't get any pics of the large pythons that survived, but was able to get some pics of some of the other critters and some great artifacts they have ..

Caymans

 LARGE tortoise shell

Nile Crocs

Brazilian croc

 Hippo Skull

LARGE fossil of a turtle

Jane, the Kookaburra

Kramer.... Their Gray (he is a very cool bird)

One BIIIIIG Leeezard!!

We left today at about 5:00pm and were spent physically and emotionally. We really feel "helpless" right now in regards to how we can "be there" for them in this time....How can ANYONE, TRULY understand?? How??

 Something WONDERFUL must lie ahead....Just has too! Sure hope they come through this OK....I cant imagine the inurance covering all of this.... Send some good vibes their way....they need em!