Scaling the heights of conservation

Owned and run by husband and wife duo Anton and Marietjie Lotter, Croc City has been around since 1999.

Because they were set on owning a business that was different, they embarked on their journey of opening a reptile park.

“At the time, we were both working in IT and had normal corporate jobs – but we both wanted something new and different,” said Anton.

The cold Gauteng climate proved difficult for the Lotters at first, as crocodiles do not adapt well to cooler weather, Anton said they had to take various measures to ensure the baby crocodiles would survive the climate, and had to install heaters in the crocodile pools.

What started off as a pipe dream of owning their own crocodile farm, grew into a full-on reptile park. The park is home to over 4 000 crocodiles in the farm area, and over 1 000 in the recreational park.

Anton explained that the park was created for the purpose of education, and believes that by educating the public about reptiles some of the myths surrounding them can be debunked.

He said, “There are so many bad stories and ideas about crocodiles and snakes … we are a community that is scared of the unknown. I was petrified of snakes and crocodiles when we first began the park, however, through years of experience I have come to respect them.”

Although the park began with only 100 baby crocodiles, and from the start, the Lotters immediately started a give-back scheme.

“We swap crocodiles with conservation farms and parks in the area. If a crocodile is too big, we give them a baby one, this gives back to the ecological process,” said Anton.

He also employs staff from the area, as he believes it is all about giving back to the community.

The park hosts various talks and shows for all ages, including the reptile snake show on Sundays and the newly-installed zip-line which goes over three pools of crocodiles.

Have you visited Croc City? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.