What does the future hold for Kinboo?

The year, 1998, in which the Kinboo was caught in the Maldivian waters, I had  just started school. The report of its capture brought a mixture of shock and delight.

Like everyone, both children and adults, I was curious to see a crocodile. After all, the famous predator is an alien species to the Maldive’s eco system. Before that day, the only crocodiles people had seen or heard were from movies and books. For me, it was the Peter Pan cartoon – the “tick tock” crocodile that wanted to eat villain Captain Hook is an all-time favorite of mine.

But all the pushing and fighting my way through to the front of the flock surrounding the cage on my visit to see the Kinboo turned out to be a big disappointment. Unlike I had imagined, Kinboo was so small that he was barely visible in the little enclosure built at the children’s park.  The water at the enclosure completely covered it.