People in East Timor honor crocodiles, as they believe, according to the legend, that the island was formed after a crocodile, carrying a boy on his back, stopped and became a beautiful and mountainous crocodile-shaped island.
In fact, people respect crocodiles in such a way that they call them grandfather, don't hunt them, often feeding them instead, and even believing, when in the presence of one, that it will attack only if the person is a sinner.
There are crocodiles in the rivers and the sea all over the island, especially in the Timor Sea, in the south.
However, this attitude will have to be reconsidered in this phase Timor-Leste starts taking the first steps in the tourism development, as the threat of crocodiles in the sea, one of the country's biggest and wealthiest resources, will discourage potential tourists to spend their holidays in the country.
Photos: crocodile, lake Ira Lalaro, East Timor.
Settings: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Shutter speed 1/500 sec, at f/5.6, focal length 300mm, ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/320 sec, at f/9.0, focal length 50mm, ISO 100