Crocs ahoy! 2

Here's a tiny sequel to the previous post on the little croc we got from Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve (SBWR) for preservation.

"Jeremy Ang (SBWR) dropped it off at the museum on 23 Feb 2007. They had discovered the baby crocodile drowned in a drift net left behind by poachers who frequently enter the reserve from Kranji.

Sungei Buloh will use it as a display specimen for education. There have been crocs in the area for some years, see: http://tinyurl.com/2ecnmb
and http://tinyurl.com/3c3466 "

Adapted from Raffles Museum Internship under Comments by Siva.

Having soaked in formalin, the croc specimen needs to be transfered to alcohol for storage purposes. Before that, it was soaked in water for a duration of 5-7 days to get rid of formalin.

According to Mr. Yeo, the best way to gauge is to use your nose. Once the formalin smell is gone, the specimen need not be soaked in water anymore. It can then be transferred into 95% alcohol. Even then, it still needs to be soaked for 5-7 days as well. 95% alcohol's used as it is more concentrated. Thus less water after evaporation as Mr. Yeo explained.


Croc out on the prowl - for a photo.

Formalin can also be used as the medium to hold the specimen but Mr. Yeo recommends alcohol as it will not harden the specimen. He also pushed aside the fact that the colour of the croc will fade as the alcohol he's been changing so far's clear.

A custom made tank according to the vitals provided by Mr. Yeo, will be ready for the croc probably this coming week by the staff from SBWR. After which, silicon will be used to seal it up to prevent alcohol evaporating off and the croc will be ready for display.