Just another Monday in Darwin: My dip in the Cage of Death

It took a little getting used to but once I got comfortable with the feeling of being suspended in a big, plastic cylinder I could start to mentally process the fact that I was mere inches away from a three meter long salt water crocodile. The only thing keeping the peace was about one inch (about 2.5 cm) of plastic, yes plastic, attached to some chains and pulleys. After the first two chickens, Houdini circled me once and initiated a staring contest. I know he was probably sizing me up for taste and tear-ability but all we could do was float there eyes locked in visceral thought. I gazed into this captive prehistoric killing machine's eyes for what felt like five minutes until the next chook on a stick came out. At that point, the sheer size of this reptilian powerhouse's body, tail, legs, head, and jaws were fully comprehended.

It was some of the most perplexing excitement I've ever experienced. While I logically appreciated salties from seeing them in the wild and various zoos, always from afar, now my perception of them will never be the same. I will equate them with the hundreds of pounds of eerily placid creature inches from my face, my hands, my heart looking at me like either a morning snack or just another random intruder but situation regardless, we shared that brief time and space.

He could have put up opposition to my presence or even just ignored me, but he did neither. I did not have the power of the feeding stick and he knew that. Still, he peered into that box with curious intent. I'll take that compliment. Call me crazy, many do, but I say any attention you receive from a massive living dinosaur, that doesn't end in fatalities or limbs lost, is a learning experience worth treasuring.