Dr. Brady Barr
	National Geographic Reptile Expert

I recently received one of those phone calls that we all dread. One of my family members was sick, really sick. Fortunately it wasn’t a member of my immediate family, but rather my extended family … my reptile family.

I have worked closely with a population of crocs in the country of Costa Rica for almost a decade. I know these crocs as individuals, and they are truly like family to me. I was terribly upset when I discovered that something was dreadfully wrong with them. They were going blind. I was determined to find out what horrible thing was causing this condition in my beloved crocs, so I immediately organized a “Dream Team” of scientists, biologists, toxicologists and wildlife veterinarians to accompany me to Costa Rica and research the problem.

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Diagnosing an illness in a croc is similar to diagnosing one in a human; it all starts with a physical examination. The only problem is that gigantic wild crocs usually aren’t cooperative patients! Doing a physical on a croc, just like a human, involves gathering important data such as length, weight and overall appearance, and visual inspection of eyes, ears, nose and throat. The most difficult part of the operation by far is getting the weight! Big crocs are unwilling participants and will not simply step upon the scale when asked. Furthermore, there are few scales that can register such tremendous mass as a big croc, especially in the field on a muddy riverbank. Therefore, these data are sorely lacking in scientific literature. They are just too difficult and dangerous to get, though vitally important. I was determined to overcome all obstacles and acquire these important data, especially if they could help my crocs.

My team attempted to do something that has rarely been accomplished — weigh full-grown wild crocodiles in the field at their capture site!

We armed ourselves with strong climbing ropes of the finest quality, lots of cargo netting, chain, tackle, winches and an industrial-sized scale, normally used to weigh automobiles. It would be quite an operation and definitely a spectacle.

Our first patient was a monster, literally, at more than 16 feet long. It was one of the largest crocs I have ever captured — there was to be no learning curve here! The big boy was also blind in one eye, exactly the patient we were looking for. After an epic battle, and one that nearly cost me my right index finger, the croc was ours. My finger became entangled in the rope during the battle, and as my doctor described it, I experienced a catastrophic spiral fracture in my finger. It was literally pulverized by the size, power and mass of the croc. Fortunately, a long surgery later in the day, and multiple titanium screws, rebuilt and saved my finger.