|
Swamp House |
| Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens is proud to operate the first purpose-built
Swamp House, or Crocodilarium, designed using multiwall polycarbonate sheeting.
These structures offer the benefit of a solar gain similar to glass but
have only a fraction of the heat loss that is a major drawback to glass.
Its beneficial effects on the rare crocodiles here are plain to see
and it is confidently predicted that efforts to breed rare crocodiles will
be much easier because of the permanent availability of natural light and
seasonal light cycles.
 Swamps can be deep or shallow, tropical to sub arctic, and very frequently brackish. They teem with life. A relatively small area can support a complete food chain from amoeba to higher mammals. The acknowledged top predator in tropical swamps in the food chain is without doubt the crocodile. Even today there are over twenty species and no other group can claim to have stayed around since the dinosaurs. Only man, of very recent evolution, has challenged crocodiles and threatened their very existence. He has done this with his usual greed, slaughtering for their hides and draining swamps to produce 'land' or 'real estate'. The enlightened few do appreciate the value of swamps just as they do the rainforests. Sooner rather than later man must become aware of the value of swamps as essential eco-systems on our planet - a planet which must be nurtured and managed for the continued existence of all life on earth. And, selfish animals that we are, not least for the benefits, and indeed very survival of mankind's future generations! Ken Sims.
|
