Wednesday, July 25, 2012

boys with sticks

It was merely a matter of time.  But I knew they would come.

Young men with dreams of quick money.

This morning, group after group of boys crowded around the path to the narrow bit of mud where the baby crocodiles rest.  Several of them carrying long bits of bamboo.

When I opened my gate, they scattered.  With the same look that young boys have when Dad shows up and the boys hope he won't notice the wet cat poking its head above the toilet bowl rim.

One of the older boys (and the one with the longest stick) told me baby crocodiles are on the beach.

Yes, I know.  And also a mother.

He laughed nervously and showed me how his bamboo pole had been shattered at the end. Apparently, he had already been introduced to her.

With a mixture of basic Spanish and a lot of Marcel Marceau, he told me he wanted the baby crocodile to bite the stick.  He would then haul the baby up to the walkway and sell it.

My reaction was mixed.  I was a bit put out that my little diorama was being disturbed.  Until I remembered.  The pond is not mine.  The crocodiles are not mine.  And certainly the babies are not mine.

An economist would point out that this is a classic case of the Tragedy of the Commons.  That which is owned in common has only benefits and no responsibilities.  As a result, the benefits soon deplete the resource.

What the boys were doing is no different than what any extractive economy does.  The fishermen of Oregon.  The loggers of British Columbia.  The oil well drillers of Venezuela.  The coal miners of West Virginia.  They all make a living off of nature's bounty.

The tragedy of extractive economies is that when the resource is no longer available, local economies usually collapse.  There is nothing left to harvest.  And the profits have been consumed as seed corn.

My little village was originally a classic extractive economy.  It was a fishing village.  Fishing has now been replaced, in major part, with a tourist-based economy.  What is often called a service economy, but is little more than a riff on extraction.  In this case, extracting pesos out of the pockets of visitors.

I often think about the future for this little town.  Economically, it will never offer much.  There is no reason to build a manufacturing plant or other wealth-producing activity here.  There is no economic reason for it.

And maybe that is not bad.  As long as the tourists show up, Melaque will remain the sleepy little town that it is.  Most people have sufficient.  A roof over their heads.  Food for a full belly.  And an amazing number of vehicles and television dishes.

By American standards, they seem poor.  By a rational objective standard, they are happy to live with the true riches that surround them.  Including the beauty of this place.

And as long as nature keeps supplying baby crocodiles, lizards, birds, squirrels, rabbits, and bugs to sell to pet stores (or directly to tourists), they will be a happy lot.

22 comments:

  1. On little boys selling critters: When I was a lad, I would catch small fish and sell them as bait to our local fishermen. A 6 inch long chub would sell for a dollar to the men who dreamed of a 5 foot long Muskey. The problem again was the commons as in the common thief, my fish traps had a very short shelf life before they were in the trunk of some adult's car. I did far better selling vegetables out of the garden behind the house.      

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would be bummed about the tampering with nature and pondering the feelings of stolen off-spring in the mind of a reptile momma. Things young boys would never consider. I mean financial opportunity knocks and for them not often.

    You as a foreigner will not be able to reason with them - that is a given. It is doubtful that a local or even a parent could reason with them; doubtful they would bother as it is probably as much tradition as anything.

    In Puerto turtles are well protected and yet they appear in hot soup and warm tortillas.  You have a tough one there my friend.  The only hope I think is if it is not a legal process, if there is some protection.  Then you must become an enforcer - with your travel schedule(s) it will just be a waiting game before the little ones are on their way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't imagine who would want to buy one ... beyond me

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jiggs's veterinarian had several sizes for sale in Manzanillo.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I was young -- six or seven, my friend Mike Pinson and I would catch as many frogs and tadpoles as we could to sell to the high school biology teacher.  It is hard for me to build up moral dudgeon when I see myself in those boys.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I didn't mention my other concern.  With mama crocodile in high protection mode, one of those boys could easily have been badly hurt.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just curious - how much would the boys get for the babe?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Steve, this is illegal! The crocodiles are protected by SEMARNP, who have an office in Barra.
     The children knew they were doing wrong when they saw you hence their actions. Turning a blind eye is no good, take photos and tell the little rustlers to sling their hook!
    Take photos of the offenders and pass them on to me if you don't want to get involved.
    Check SEMARNP on the Internet.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We were hand fishing for grass pike, yes, catch them with your hands, when I stepped off a sand bar and into the current. Off I went, no chance but for an older boy who rushed to shore and ran down the shore, he got far enough ahead to swim out and snag me. It is easy to die when you're young.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The email to contact to report this is; denuncias@profepa.gob.mx you can report in English.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't know.  Probably very little.  I thought about going out there to give the first group of boys some money to become the guardians of the crocodiles.  But you know how that would have ended up.

    As t turns out, the babes seem to have survived the onslaught.  I saw five last evening swimming around.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Interestingly, my presence seems to have scared the boys away.  There was only one group by this morning,and they were not interested in crocs; they were shooting at iguana with their home-made slingshots.  The fact that all of the babies seem to have survived is reassuring.  Their best protection is that snapping mommy.  And she is still on guard.

    ReplyDelete
  13.  I will hang on to this.  Thanks, Penny.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Natural Selection is quite effective.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am getting the impression that Mexicans are not very bright.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Carnivoris_EatemupisJuly 26, 2012 at 1:39 AM

    You might as well grill 'em up now, so you won't be disappointed later.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Carnivoris_EatemupisJuly 26, 2012 at 1:42 AM

    The Mexican authorities are not capable of dealing with the drug cartels.  Do you really think they can thwart the crocodile poachers?

    ReplyDelete
  18.  But it was a great time of our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  19. And mama was willing to teach some lessons.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mexico is no different than any other nation.  In fact, I can remember when pet stores sold baby alligators in Oregon.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Today the boys reverted to the weapons of boys the world over.  Rocks.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I reverted to a better tactic.  Getting the boys' mothers involved.

    ReplyDelete