The stories between crocodiles and Kang Zhiyong
When it comes to crocodiles, people inevitably think of their massive jaws and sharp teeth. This creature that everyone tries to avoid is regarded by Kang Zhiyong, a large rabbit farmer in Zini Town, Longhai City, as a wealth-making treasure for his second venture. In just two short years, he has raised more than 4,000 crocodiles. Yesterday, the reporter went to the crocodile farm in Anshan Village, Zini Town, Longhai, to hear Kang Zhiyong tell the story of him and his crocodiles.
The 47-year-old Kang Zhiyong is bold and enterprising. A few years ago, his meat rabbits were marketed at more than 80,000 per year, and business was booming. Two years ago, a report on CCTV's "Road to Wealth" program about farmers raising crocodiles caught his attention, and he felt it might be a good opportunity. After searching for information online, he found that crocodiles are treasures from head to tail and have broad market development value, so he came up with the idea of raising crocodiles.
Kang Zhiyong and his crocodiles
To be on the safe side, Kang Zhiyong asked a friend to find out about the situation from a crocodile farmer in Guangdong. After receiving the feedback, he strengthened his confidence. It turned out that the crocodile's favorite food is tilapia, which sells for more than 4 yuan per jin on the market. Zini Town has a great many shrimp ponds, and before shrimp farmers start farming, they often have to clear all the tilapia from the ponds. At that time, tilapia was extremely abundant, and the highest price was only 80 cents per jin. Just when he had mustered the courage to go all out, his family members opposed the idea out of concern that crocodiles are extremely fierce. Kang Zhiyong still insisted on his choice. He went to Guangdong to learn crocodile farming techniques. In the divided ponds, he saw crocodiles for the first time. More than a thousand crocodiles lined up in a row on the bank enjoying the sunshine, which astonished him. But as soon as he stepped forward, they rustled into the water, and whatever he fed them, they ate. He felt that crocodiles were easier to raise than rabbits and needed little care.
In 2014, Kang Zhiyong's crocodile farm passed its application and obtained the "Aquatic Wildlife Domestication and Breeding License" and the "Aquatic Wildlife Business Utilization License" for the Siamese crocodile, a national first-class protected animal. In the summer of the same year, he raised more than 10 million yuan and began building crocodile ponds around the rabbit sheds, covering an area of 15 mu. At 300 yuan each, he introduced lively and healthy Thai Siamese crocodile hatchlings. But by autumn, as the temperature kept dropping, the crocodiles became unusually listless, as if they had fallen ill. He consulted experts and learned that crocodiles are tropical climate animals, best suited to living in a 30°C environment, and would die if the temperature fell below 5°C. Kang Zhiyong had a flash of inspiration: his home had an air-source heat pump air conditioner that could maintain the water temperature at home. So before winter arrived, he installed air-source water heaters around the crocodile ponds. In this way, his crocodiles not only did not freeze to death, but even put on a layer of fat.
"Crocodiles are very sensitive, and their courage is about the same as a rabbit's. If there is any movement within one kilometer, they will hide in the water. If they are really badly frightened, even in water only 20 cm deep, they will not dare come out to breathe and will drown alive," Kang Zhiyong said. After careful breeding, the crocodiles reached 40 jin in weight within two years. When the harvest season came, "catching crocodiles still requires several people to work together." Kang Zhiyong said that one person first uses a net to catch the crocodile, another uses a tool to bind the crocodile's mouth, and another is responsible for lifting the crocodile's body. At 40 yuan per jin, he sold them to distributors in Xiamen and Fuzhou. What surprised him was that the distributors reported that his crocodiles, with their mouths bound, went a month without eating or drinking and were still perfectly fine.
"Crocodile is a delicacy on the tip of the tongue, and its immunity is very strong. It is an animal on Earth that does not get cancer. Crocodile eggs are about the size of goose eggs and can be used to treat asthma," Kang Zhiyong said. In addition, crocodile claws and tails sell for 120 yuan per jin, and crocodile skin has long been known as the platinum of leather, used to make high-end leather bags, and demand exceeds supply. Speaking of future development, Kang Zhiyong introduced that the crocodile base is building a crocodile sightseeing park. He plans to expand the value of crocodiles into tourism and let more people come to visit.