If you are a Crocodile Dundee fan, you may want to take a trip to Kelowna and visit the Okanagan’s answer to Hollywood’s favourite king of crocodiles.
Doug Illman, co-owner of Croc Talk Conservation and Rescue, has dedicated his life to rescuing crocodiles, turtles, African wildcats and an assortment of other creatures that don’t make great house pets.
In 1974, Illman’s study of prehistoric reptiles began and quickly grew into a passion for crocodilians that fuels his conservation and education efforts of today.
HOW TO GET THERE
Croc Talk is located at suite A-4493 Stewart Rd. E. in Kelowna. As you enter Kelowna from Vernon, turn left off Harvey Road onto Dillworth Drive, which turns into Benvoulin Road. Take a left onto Casorso Road. When you get to a fork, take Bedford Road and then take Stewart Road at the next fork. Follow the Croc Talk Signs. Visit the refuge’s website at croctalk.com or call 250-764-1616.He was, in 2003, recruited by the City of Kelowna to be a member of the committee responsible for rewriting its exotic animal bylaw.
He has since become recognized as Canada’s foremost crocodilian expert and is often contacted to rescue crocodilians, tortoises and wild cats, as well as to consult on related issues.
Supported by the City of Kelowna and the Central Okanagan Regional District, Illman’s refuge (which has been open for more than 11 years) has special permission to house prohibited animals as an educational facility.
The refuge is exempt from bylaws, is supported by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forests and has been granted a controlled alien-species permit for all the illegal animals it houses. The partners relocated their previous home-based operations to their current “interim” facility in east Kelowna and opened the doors to the general public on July 11, 2006.
To ensure the best environment for all crocodilians, the partners have replicated, as closely as possible, the natural surroundings in which these animals flourish.
Additionally, each uniquely designed pond and living area provides sufficient square footage to satisfy the crocodilians’ need to roam and the perimeter of each pond is separated from the public, using tempered glass.
This provides safety for both viewer and animal.
Croc Talk works closely with the SPCA and law enforcement to rescue animals purchased at pet stores before it became illegal to own these animals. Penalties can be severe if caught with illegal animals, so most owners are glad to turn them over.
The refuge also received a crocodile from the zoology department at UBC.
All tours of the facility are guided educational affairs during which visitors learn interesting facts about the facility’s resident creatures.
Did you know:
• Crocodiles can lunge at you from the water at a speed of 40 m.p.h.?
• Crocodiles have temperature-dependent sex determination, which means the gender of their hatchlings is determined not by genetics, but by the average temperature during the middle third of their incubation period?
If the temperature inside the nest is below 31.7 C or above 34.5 C, the offspring will be female.
Males can only be born if the temperature is within that narrow five-degree range. Baby turtles at the facility can live up to 150 years and weigh over 250 pounds.
• Once the mother turtle lays her eggs, her parenting duties are over and babies are on their own once they hatch?
• The first crocodiles appeared 240-million years ago, at the same time with the dinosaurs (to which they are related), were less than one metre (three feet) in length and ran on two feet? That’s why, even today, crocodiles have longer hind limbs than forelimbs.
One of the most popular residents at the refuge is Alli McGator, a seven-foot-one American alligator who understands a number of commands and responds to her own name.
She lives in a compound next to another large female alligator named Lucy, who loves having her feet tickled by Illman.
During the tour, Illman gets up close and personal with these two large alligators, demonstrating how they are able to suppress their natural urge to lunge out and eat him while gently grabbing fish treats from his hand, leaving his limbs fully intact.
Visitors are able to pet one of the smaller crocodiles (who will have their mouths taped shut, just to be on the safe side). Guests can also interact with and feed the tortoises, who love carrots.
So, go out and spend the day learning about these fascinating creatures and why it is important to preserve them, rather than turn them into handbags and boots.
For more information about Croc Talk, visit their website at croctalk.com. To watch a video on Croc Talk or to discover other interesting day trips in our area, go online to WhereToGoAndHowToGetThere.com.
