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CROCODOPOLIS world of crocodilians TM SCIENCE · CULTURE · INDUSTRY · NEWS · COMMUNICATION · CONSERVATION
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ABOUT
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Crocodopolis was established for the purpose of facilitating worldwide communication between professionals and non-professionals alike, in the promotion of interest in and support of crocodilians -- addressing subjects such as conservation, biology, culture, and industry -- in harmony with established and progressive conservation practices. _____________
Article: A New Internet Journal
By Israel Dupont
September 24, 2006
Crocodilians have fascinated, haunted and amused humankind for millennia. Long misunderstood creatures of water and land, they have been broadly perceived as parts reptile, amphibian, bird, and mammal, as fire-breathing dragons and biblical monsters. They are known for being ferocious and nearly invincible, and threatened with extinction in the modern day, even vulnerable.
Society of the 21st century has experienced a revitalized interest in the great saurian, the alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials of the world. But unlike the fearful crocodile worshippers of ancient Egypt's Crocodopolis (a corruption of the original spelling "Crocodilopolis"), the "city of crocodiles," people of the modern age, enlightened by centuries of exploration and learning, look anew at these animals.
Instead of being revered as was that civilization's crocodile man-deity Sobek, they are now eagerly studied and appreciated for their ecological prominence, their previously unknown intelligence and biology, and their commercial appeal.
Crocodilians are a constant in the worldwide public consciousness. Whether interest in them is related to conservation, popular entertainment, or the tragic killing of a human, they are always in the news.
Crocodopolis: World of Crocodilians was founded as a non-profit journal * to respond to the curiosity and misconceptions of the public, to the need for a higher profile of support of scientific and conservation efforts carried out by organizations like Crocodile Specialist Group, and also as a venue to facilitate the broader sharing of related knowledge, experience, ideas and creativity, a website of people and not of a single person, a tall order for an Internet magazine.
The initial release of this website reveals the sparseness of publishing infancy, but it is hoped that the journal will both grow and evolve - in content, scope, and design - its mission largely intact. It is anticipated that all who visit will be informed, inspired, provoked, entertained.
The name of this Web magazine is a nod to the enduring psychocultural fascination inspired by the great reptiles, just as in the days of Egypt a few millennia ago. The name is also a connotation of a destination of the fascinated, be they students, professionals or web surfers.
This project has been a pleasing labor for its author, and promises to continue as such in sharing this life-long fascination with other people - and to facilitate the expression of their fascination, as well - through this publication.
Publisher/Editor
* Please see the Financial Disclosure for a full description.
"Hippopotamus and crocodile hunt," ca. 1615, by Peter Paul Rubens.
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STAFF Israel Dupont, Editor/Publisher Christopher Law, Associate Editor Wes Von Papineäu, News Page Editor
Croc/Caiman/Alligator Rescue: rescue@crocodopolis.net
Papyrus image reproduction of the ancient Egyptian crocodile/man deity Sobek.
"Exceeding the Speed limit." An early-20th century postcard from Los Angeles' long-defunct California Alligator Farm.
A congestion of American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) provides the lucrative spectacle that draws tourists to an attraction in Hollywood, Florida, USA.
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