Journals of a Hotel Manager

I hate to blog about animals here again. Apart from the rats, whose situation is well under control after the ceremony to their gods, and the cobra which was never to be seen again on the beach, our tropical island is teeming with wild life. The recent rain has nourished the grass to a lush green and the trees are glistening clean. Tiny frogs jump onto windows with heavy condensation and pulse their throats to the rhythm of the rain. Birds serve as a natural wake up call at dawn. The ubiquitous lizards chik-chak and their bigger cousins geckos are too numerous to be noticed.

And then there is alu.

I was showing a couple of journalists our famous garden the other day. The paths were slick with rain and the heavy earthy scent from the lawn was pungent in the humid late morning. Just as I was pointing out how the spacious lawn could be set up for a wedding or a product launch, and how serene the reflection on the pond was with a family of white fluffy ducks, we heard rustling sound coming from the bushes behind us. Two crocodiles, well at least they seemed to me at the time, came running out of the bushes. They wagged their bulky tails and flexed their muscular legs. The three of us jumped five feet high and yelped like puppies. The creatures totally ignored us, crawled through the spaces between us and dived into the pond with a loud splash.

“It’s like Jurassic Park here!” exclaimed one journalist.

I reddened and apologized for the interruption. Luckily they thought it was hilarious. It is not everyday that you see a GM jump and scream like a little girl.

I later found out that the two crocodiles are called alu locally. They are scientifically known as water monitor lizards. To me, they look like ferocious komodo dragons. But the locals vowed to me that alu is the vegetarian komodo dragon. The local men treasure the alu meat because it gives them power in the hormone department. Sometimes they would catch a baby alu and tether it on leash and feed it until it grows big enough to be feasted upon.

To catch a full grown alu, up to 8 feet, it is more wit rather than power. The locals will smear vegemite or marmite onto sizeable stones and place the stones in a narrow elongated cage. The smell will attract the alu to gulp the ‘vegetarian’ stones. Since they cannot walk back or turn in the narrow cage, with stones weighing their stomach down, it will be a piece of cake to capture the powerful alu.

The myth of alu being vegetarian was shattered today. We received a guest complaint that he had witnessed one of the ducks being attacked in the pond. He also described the creature as a crocodile. We assured him the hotel was safe from man-eating reptiles. But we could not tell him that alu was vegetarian now, could we?

photo from Wikipedia, Museum of Natural History