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Sixteen West African crocodiles, reared at Lausanne's Aquatis Aquarium, were transported to Morocco on Wednesday, June 12, to begin a gradual reintroduction into their natural environment.
According to the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA, the young desert crocodiles arrived in Agadir as part of a first-of-its-kind species protection project in Africa.
The trip from Switzerland to Morocco went smoothly, Aquatis director Michel Ansermet told the agency.
«The animals were fitted with microchips, particularly for customs clearance», he said. «They traveled in stable individual compartments».
«Everything went very well, completely calm», he assured.
The reptiles were brought from Lausanne to Geneva by van and then loaded onto a plane. «The arrival in Agadir is planned for nighttime to avoid exposing the animals to extreme heat», said Ansermet, who is accompanying the crocodiles.
The 16 reptiles are between 42 centimeters and 1.06 meters long. Fourteen of the crocodiles hatched in 2022 and two in 2019.
For the record, Agadir is home to the Crocoparc, the only zoological park of crocodiles in Morocco.
