DUBAI // Never smile at a crocodile, the old song goes. But for staff it was hard to keep the grins off their faces after two babies were born to King and Queen Croc at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.There was hope the newborns will grow up to be huge attractions – literally – like their Australian saltwater crocodile parents.
“The king and queen have reproduced unexpectedly. It is something we did not think they could do and would do,” said Paul Hamilton, the general manager and curator at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.
King Croc, who is 40, is among the largest reptiles in the world. His companion, Queen Croc, is more than 80 years old.
At only 30 centimetres long and weighing 70 grams, the baby crocs are dwarfed by their 5.1-metre long, 750-kilogram father.
The adult crocs took up residence at the mall in June last year and quickly adapted to their new home. The queen laid 59 eggs over a 90-day incubation period, but many of them stopped developing at various stages and only 25 remain in incubators at this point.
Mr Hamilton said the chances of Queen Croc successfully laying so many eggs were thought to be low because of her age.
In nature, about 90 per cent of all baby crocs struggle for survival, as they are eaten by fish, monitor lizards and other predators.
Both parent crocs previously lived on a crocodile farm in Australia and have been companions for more than 20 years.
The process of nesting, laying, hatching and monitoring the eggs and incubation took place in the aquarium, Mr Hamilton said.
“The successful hatching of the baby crocs highlights the conducive environment that Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo offers to King Croc and his companion, and how effortlessly they have adapted to their home in Dubai.”
The gender of the babies can be determined only after a couple of weeks, and they will be kept at the aquarium until they are large enough to be transferred to a zoo, he said.
“We will accommodate them to until a certain size, and when we feel they need a bigger home, we will start looking to zoos around the world.”
roueiti@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
LEADERBOARD
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
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Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
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By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
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