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CROCODOPOLIS world of crocodilians TM SCIENCE · CULTURE · INDUSTRY · NEWS · COMMUNICATION · CONSERVATION
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FEATURES
profiles
February 8, 2007
Ralf Sommerlad,
Der Krokodilfachmann (continued)
FACETS.
Sommerlad struggles to support his living in a nation where the economy
is feeling the strain of inflation – a result of the upheaval of the
birth of the European Union (EU). He explained that the poorer, less developed
member nations of the EU are a burden to the more developed ones, since
all now share the economies of the member countries. In Frankfurt, this
makes selling insurance very difficult, he said. Adding to the
challenge, he pointed out, is the reality that all his conservation
efforts are voluntary and uncompensated. His public life
doesn’t end with his business. “I was always interested in
politics,” he said. He was active in the local political arena for 25
years, as a German Social Democrat, later switching to the Liberal
party. He served an elected office for several years in the local
Frankfurt council, and was a candidate for the state parliament of Hesse.
Clearly, he had
developed the social skills and talents needed to influence policy - be it in city
government, or in appealing to state leaders on continents abroad to
implement conservation measures. As
for his personal life, he is separated from his wife, but shares his
time with their sons, Colin (30 years of age), Sven (28) and Marc (24). “None
of my sons is very interested in crocodilians or other reptiles, but
they tolerated my work over all the years. All of my sons are great in
sports - soccer is the favorite in Germany - and, as their old dad, [they
are] fans of our local first league club Eintracht Frankfurt.”
In April,
Sommerlad assumed a new role – grandfather. “What
I like most about Ralf is that he is passionate, observed his friend
Bruce Shwedick. “He is passionate about all of the things he likes – his
family, his music – he’s a big fan of Frank Sinatra and a big fan of
all the singers of that era – everything about life.” Shwedick,
a reptile
specialist, natural history educator and conservationist, met
Sommerlad when the German was visiting Florida in the mid
’90s and stopped at (the now-defunct) Gator Jungle in Plant City, where Shwedick was exhibit curator. The two croc-men who grew up thousands of
miles apart from each other hit it off quickly, and have remained
friends – and fellow conservation workers – ever since. “I
would say an area where he’s more successful than I am is that he
keeps his life better balanced…many facets of his life are full. I
think that’s made him a very successful person,” added Shwedick. After
35 years in the field of crocodilian research and conservation,
Sommerlad recently formalized his expertise in a new venture, Crocodile Consult,
offering technical services in the areas of crocodilian science,
education, conservation and zoology. One of his recent projects was a placement of Malayan Gharials at the new Hong Kong Wetland Park, a public education and research facility. No easy task, the project required dealing with legal and procedural obstacles, as well as those of husbandry, requiring changes to the elaborate enclosure designed for the animals. Sommerlad is proud of one of another of his recent successes, the book Crocodilians: Their Natural History and Captive Husbandry, the culmination of seven years’ labor, a collaboration with a mentor of his youth, Trutnau. “Ralf
stands to the things he said,” explained Trutnau in his best English.
“When I told him, “let's write a book about crocodilians,” my
perception was I cannot find a better [collaborator].” The book, at
646 pages, is a densely packed volume that used Trutnau’s 1994 work, Krokodile,
as a starting point. While
several fine books have been published on crocodilian biology and
husbandry, Trutnau and Sommerlad’s boasts uniqueness in its inclusion
of information from lesser-exposed, older European science. “The book
also draws on a great deal of the European literature on
crocodilians,” wrote Grahame Webb in his Foreword to the book, “which for a
variety of reasons – language amongst them – has tended to be less
known outside of Europe. It is encouraging to see references to classic
German studies from the early 20th Century, which did much to
pioneer our understanding of crocodilian structure and function.” Remarked Shwedick: “…one of the things I love about Ralf’s book: It’s got so many references to the past – to past workers’ research and their publications. It’s just a treasure trove of knowledge about crocodilians…Many people, especially people starting out, become interested in crocodilians but may not realize that this material is available; but there’s volumes and volumes of work that took place in the 1950s and ‘60s and ‘70s.”
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Shwedick, holding a crocodilian skull. (Photo: R. Sommerlad.)
Sommerlad and a keeper capture a Malayan Gharial (Toimstoma schlegelii) at Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo in Thailand for transport to Hong Kong Wetland Park in April, 2006. (Photo: Courtesy of R. Sommerlad.)
Releasing a Malayan Gharial in it's new, elaborate enclosure at Hong Kong Wetland Park in April, 2006. (Photo: Courtesy of R. Sommerlad.) |
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