Zoo celebrates hatching of dozen baby tomistomas

SAN ANTONIO – There are 12 new additions to the San Antonio Zoo, and if you like big jaws and green skin, they are as cute as can be.

A clutch of tomistomas, a vulnerable species, began to hatch on Sept. 9. The crocodilians are now old enough to start meeting the outside world, and KSAT 12 got a sneak peek.

The dozen baby tomistomas took seven to eight days to all hatch. They are just a month old.

"They don't have names yet. We're still trying to figure out if they are girls or boys," said Craig Pelke, director of ectotherms at the San Antonio Zoo.

Pelke was there when the vulnerable species, native to Indonesia and Malaysia, said hello to the world.

Though the zoo has produced two groups of hatchlings before, this is Pelke's first time as a tomistoma dad.

"It was really exciting, [I was] physically and mentally doing cartwheels," Pelke said.

He said this is a huge development. Deforestation has caused the worldwide population of these reptiles to hit less than 2,500, and it's dropping, according to the zoo.

"Chances are they're not even vulnerable. They're more likely endangered," Pelke said.

This clutch alone raised the professional zoo population by 50 percent. By the numbers, San Antonio is the most successful tomistoma breeding program in the U.S.

The plan is to raise them properly and get them to a healthy adult size. The mother, named Nadia, is 12 feet long and the father, named Boris, is 14 feet long. Pelke said the window to actually handle them is quickly closing.

"We've found them to be quite opportunistic. They'll take anything they can fit in their mouth," Pelke said.

Just by coincidence, the zoo said Thursday is its annual Croctoberfest, starting at 7 p.m. All of the proceeds go to helping endangered animals, like the tomistomas. There will be food, drinks and fun for the family.

Tickets are $10 at the door or online at www.sazoo.org.