This is the story of how two tennagers - with the helps of a few crocodiles triumph over the politics of the African wild. Two idealistic American boys, on a gap year trip to South Africa, are left late at night, alone, deep in the bush, and surrounded by the incessant noises of the wilderness. They have no idea what they need to do to get through this terrible ordeal. The boys had been organizing a demonstration to free crocodiles from the captivity of being raised on a farm. But the demonstration was illegal and a judge sentenced them to spend two weeks in the bush to experience life as both prey and predator, just as the freed crocodiles would have to do. Their predicament draws the attention of Credit, the dominant crocodile of the farms bask. Years before, he had been secretly adopted by a son of the farms owners. Before he outgrew his under-the-bed nest, he came to understand English from conversations his master directed at him. Credit and his friends decide to protect the boys while they are among Africas most fearsome wildlife. The crocodiles want the boys to carry a message back to the United States that concern for human and animal populations living together in Africa is primarily an African responsibility. While in the wild together, the boys and the crocodiles form a surprising bond that promises to change how Westerners deal with African wildlife far into the future.
Godfrey Harris has been preparing managerial options to everyday activities political programs,
event planning, household moving, project development for the past 50+ years as a public policy
consultant. Prior to co-founding Harris/Ragan Management Group in 1968, Harris taught political science at two universities and was a U.S. diplomat in three world capitals. While recuperating from back surgery, he realized that caregiving services could benefit from the same kind of planning, record keeping and management approaches he had applied to many other topics.
A charming story with a serious message emerges from Happy Hollow, a village in the Republic of South Africa. The two unlikely messengers are Credit the crocodile and his croc friend Cynthia, who live happily on the Stewart Farm crocodile ranch. Credit is as smart as any person and knows how to communicate with humans. When Credit hears that two teenaged white American boys have come to liberate the crocs under the banner of the Animal Welfare Enterprises (AWE), he is intrigued; what are the crocodiles being liberated from, he wonders? Being twenty-five years old and quite smart, Credit knows that crocodile farms brought the crocs back from near extinction by protecting the eggs and adults from human and animal predators; judicious culling for meat and skin is a small price to pay. When the boys are sentenced to time in the bush for protesting without a permit, their education on the hubris of imposing your ideas on others without being asked beginsand so does the readers education. Harris, a seasoned international public policy expert, skillfully unfolds an entertaining tutelage on the meaning of practical conservation. The interplay among Happy Hollow residents, the boys, and Western officials illustrate the growth of politics and greed in international conservation and how ludicrous and impractical the resulting rules can be. But the real schooling comes in the bush, from Credit (and Cynthia), who allow the boys to realize that humans and greedy conservation groups, not crocodile farms, are the real threat. In a highly entertaining, non-judgmental, imaginative, and extremely educated and well-researched fashion, Harris shows us the politically charged issue of African animal conservation fueled by crackpot ideas on what wild animals want. We see the wisdom of Credits words: let Africans deal with African problemsAfriCAN. Priscilla Evans, US Review
"Up until two weeks ago, my only interest in ivory was that of an antique dealer and collector......
After reading your book on "the crocodile I discover that I'm now sending emails to websites about conservation trade-offs win-win situations. Whoever would have believed that such an old fart could make such progress after reading such a simple child's book? Your book has been one of the most effective, quickest, deepest educational experiences. Indeed, this is a book for people of all ages. You Have written one of the most effective, enjoyable, and educational books I think we have ever opened. Thanks for bringing me out of the dark ages when it comes to conservation." -- former antique dealer and ivory collector who has retired in Sweden
