The Crocodiles of the Orinoco

In THE CROCODILES OF ORINOCO, National Geographic field correspondent, Jesús Rivas and his biologist wife, Renee Owens travel to the Venezuelan llanos on an unusual mission - to search for giant reptiles. They are looking for the highly endangered Orinoco crocodile, one of the largest predators in all of South America. But even these giants' deadly jaws weren't enough to fight off decades of slaughter. From the 1930s to the mid-1960s, hunters nearly decimated the species. By the 1970s, when the killing of Orinoco crocodiles was officially banned, it was almost too late. Jesús and Renee want to find Orinoco crocodiles that were raised in captivity and have been set free. They want to know how they are surviving back in the wild. But before they head for the llanos, they visit one of Venezuela's more unusual pet owners, a grandmother named Berta Perez. Berta is a doting mother to Pancha, a ten foot long 'pet' Orinoco crocodile, whom she keeps in her front yard. But 24-year-old Pancha's own maternal instincts have not left her either. She lays eggs, but sadly with no male to fertilize them, no babies will hatch. In National Geographic's THE CROCODILES OF ORINOCO, Jesús and Renee wrestle a 15-foot anaconda out of its swampy lair; attempt to capture a huge Orinoco crocodile in the dead of night - without getting bitten - and release these magnificent creatures back into the wild. Their greatest hope is that against all odds, Orinoco crocodiles may just be making a comeback.