PERCHED atop a hill in the middle of busy Mandeville, and just next door to the Baptist congregation in the Manchester capital, lies a virtual game reserve complete with trees, watering holes, and of course, animals. But the animals aren’t what you’d expect to find in this built-up area.

They are American crocodiles, about 40 of them, held in pens designed to cater to their watering, cooling and basking needs. The reptiles range in age from a few months to about 55 years. The largest one measures more than 13 feet and weighs almost 1,000 pounds. They were taken there by Jamaica’s own crocodile dundee, Charles Swaby – one of very few people on the island with an exemption certificate to operate a sanctuary and to collect “nuisance animals”.

Swaby’s reserve, located on the five-acre property where he grew up, provides a near-natural environment and a safe haven for the crocodiles, many of which were captured by humans when they strayed too far from their natural swampy habitats.

Concerns have been growing among local environmentalists about the rate of development on the island, which forces the feared reptiles out of their homes and into spaces occupied by humans. When found, they are often mistreated, either intentionally or because of people’s limited knowledge of crocodiles.

“I’m the only man in Jamaica who cares whether crocodiles in Jamaica live or die,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Each week he takes meat – up to 100 pounds each time – and feeds the animals which know him and respond to his taming call.

“It may look simple, and it may look like the crocodiles are very tame but you have to be careful,” he advised as he stood in the biggest pen throwing chunks of beef and turkey neck to the hungry animals. “If I don’t know what I’m doing…” he said trailing off, the danger obvious and his meaning hanging thick in the air.

Potential dangers aside, what of the expense of keeping the appetites of the giant lizards assuaged?

“Put it this way, some people throw away their money on gambling, I throw mine away on crocodiles,” said the man who gave his age as “close to three score and 10”.

Swaby, who owns and operates J Charles Swaby’s Black River Safari in St Elizabeth, says he has always loved animals and that it was this love that led him to establish the tourist attraction on the island’s south coast in 1987.

As a boy, he enjoyed spear-fishing and bird shooting. He also used to keep rabbits, dogs and cattle at home. His parents too were avid animal lovers – rearing cattle, chickens, dogs – and so they did not disapprove of Charles keeping his own animals.

He said when he took home the first crocodile in 1959 and began to build a pool and holding area for the reptile, his father simply advised him to ensure that there were no escape routes – neither for the animal nor for the water in its pool.

So in 1987, Swaby skillfully turned his animal-loving hobby into a successful career when he started the safari tour. It includes taking a boat ride on the Black River to see the birds, fish and other aquatic animal. But the real stars of the show are the crocodiles who, to the delight of tourists, often sun themselves on a pier near to the dock or swim close to the boats where they are sometimes petted and fed by tour guides.

“I have always been involved in tourism,” Swaby said. “From I was a teen in school (in the early 60s), I used to take tourists out to see crocodiles,” he noted proudly.

“It was out of that, that I decided to do the safari tour… When I was going to boarding school in Kingston, my idea was to go to Africa to hunt big game, but at that time there were (too many) wars of liberation so that’s why I didn’t go,” he added.

The self-taught crocodile expert has no regrets. He said that although the attraction sees an “appreciable” number of visitors each year, profits could be better. But Swaby says he is fulfilled because he is doing something he enjoys.

“The start of the Black River Safari was the catalyst for South Coast tourism development because until we started, there was no Lover’s Leap, no Cashew Ostrich Park, no Apple Valley, no Y/S Falls, no guest houses. Now there are thousands of visitors to the south coast,” he said.

In addition to those in Mandeville, Swaby has reptiles in Falmouth and in a special facility on the 20 acres of wetlands the Black River Safari calls home. His plan is to develop the Mandeville reserve into a resource centre for students and members of the public as a whole.

“We’re looking to really have a lot of animals… The plan is to open a centre that will allow members of the public to come and see the crocodiles and learn about them,” he said, disclosing that everything should be in place before year end.

To facilitate the centre, Swaby has already put in a road at the back of the property, which will allow easier access than the current route that snakes past the police station, the Mandeville branch of Courts, and up the hill next to the church.

Although all the details have not yet been ironed out, the entrepreneur says a small fee will be attached to cover maintenance of the grounds, food for the reptiles and the cost of guided tours. He is confident it will attract large crowds and that the venture will succeed.

“I think crocodiles are among the most interesting animals to look at. They are one of the last remaining dinosaurs,” he said.