If a sign warning of potential danger is posted, will a dog be able to read it? The answer is NO, no matter how many or how large the signs are. One sign plus the nature of Labrador Retrievers to rush headlong into the nearest body of water equaled tragedy last week. A dog was devoured and another injured by a crocodile, where the lagoon meets the public beach at Boca de Iguanas.
The pets’ owners, an expat couple residing in Guadalajara and their two children, witnessed the tragedy. Within seconds of the first Lab splashing into the water, a croc slid off the shore and made its silent, fatal move. Attempting to rescue his friend, the family’s other dog also was attacked, perhaps by a second crocodile, but managed to escape with serious wounds.
La Manzanilla’s condolences go out to the family. Anyone who’s lost a pet can sympathize with the heartbreak. Let’s not even go to the trauma of watching the gruesome scene unfold. But the incident raises more questions than there are obvious solutions at this time.
A fence around the Boca de Iguana lagoon and highly visible warning signs, such as recently installed in La Manzanilla, seem the simplest answer. Ah, if only! The area in question apparently has instigated a whizzing contest between the eco-resort and the local government whose properties share the lagoon.
The La Manzanilla Ejido oversees the section where the attack occurred, which is public beach, as well as federal land. The Boca de Iguana resort hotel and real estate development, which is private, abuts that land.
Jimmi Jorgensen, spokesman for the resort, stated that they have tried to post warning signs in Spanish and English on the public beach side and extend their perimeter barbed-wire fence to encompass the lagoon. He said La Manzanilla Ejido wouldn’t let them. He added that there is an advisory sign at the entrance to the beach, alerting visitors to the do’s and don’ts, with the crocodile warning at the top of the list. The condition of the sign makes it easy to ignore, Jorgensen admitted.
Although no one at the La Manzanilla Ejido recalls discussing this issue with anyone at the hotel, progress is in the works. Ejido President Primitivo Gonzalez said they have cyclone fencing and signs, similar to those in La Manzanilla, ready to install at the Boca de Iguana lagoon next week.
Better late than never, hopefully this solution is early enough to prevent future tragedies. These fixes, however, still are only temporary. When the lagoons of La Manzanilla and Boca de Iguana open to the sea during the rainy season and the crocodiles roam free once more, we’ll be back to square one. Let’s hope everyone remembers where the fences and signs are stored so they can be reinstalled next fall.
Until dogs and small children are able to read warning signs, it’s up to responsible adults to read them and take appropriate action. A little common sense wouldn’t hurt, either. A confined lagoon ... in the tropics ... with another crocodile habitat just a few kilometers away ... regardless of whether or not there’s a warning posted: DUH! This is Mexico, not Disneyland.
Dream goes belly up
A boat donated by a local resident for a marine habitat off Tenacatita found its way back to La Manzanilla recently. The washed up hull of the 26-foot fiberglass sailboat was eventually extricated from the surf, broken into scrap, and hauled away.
The boat, which previously had sustained irreparable damage in the bay, was gladly accepted and hauled over to Tenacatita by a group of community development-minded citizens. The completely stripped hull was to be sunk in about 60 feet of water offshore.
Already listed in major tour books for snorkeling in an area known as the Aquarium, Tenacatita is also becoming popular as a scuba-diving spot. The old boat at the bottom of the bay would serve as an artificial reef to attract the fish that would attract more divers that would help the financial development of this small beachfront community.
How did such a win/win situation go bad? Styrofoam. The owner had cautioned the boat’s recipients to remove all the flotation-enhancing material from the hull before they scuttled the vessel. They missed some. The boat eventually broke anchor, rose to the surface, and within a couple of days was back at its original moorage.
Normally, a beached boat in a small fishing village wouldn’t cause much of a stir. It doesn’t take much to amuse La Manzanillans in the off season, however. And this particular boat generated a lot of interest.
Aside from gatherings of locals seaside-supervising or helping Army personnel pull the boat to shore, the Mexican Navy, federal police and drug-sniffing dogs all gave it the once over. But the boat was clean.
So a beautiful sail boat that could have provided hours of pleasure on or below the sea came home to die. Now, it’s just fill at the local dump and another dream gone belly-up.
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