- The Legend of Gomek, William Adams
Throughout the history of zoos and aquariums, there have
been certain, individual animals who have enjoyed a unique celebrity status. Just as with human celebrities, the cause for
their fame may vary. Maybe they were the
first member of their species to be seen outside their homeland. Maybe they were just an unusually large or
strangely colored individual. Or perhaps
they had some sort of unique history.
Whatever their cases, almost all of them have one thing in
common – they are mammals. Almost all. There is a very tiny clique of other animals
who have achieved star status. Among
those, the one with the most striking life story might be Gomek.
The life of the saltwater crocodile who would one day be
known as Gomek began in the jungles of New Guinea, possibly as early as the
1930s. The crocodile would have reached
adult size by the time World War II touched the island. There’s not much we can surmise about Gomek’s
early life, but by the 1960’s, he had started to earn something of a reputation
among the natives of the Fly River.
There were probably three reasons for this. One was that he was very black. A second was that he was very big. And third, and most importantly, was that he
had taken to killing and eating them. In
their eyes, he wasn’t just a crocodile – he was Louma, a crocodile possessed by an evil spirit.
Eventually, the rumors reached the ears of an Australian
crocodile hunter (not that Australian crocodile hunter) named George Craig, who
was operating out of eastern New Guinea (what is now the nation of Papua New
Guinea, then overseen by the Australian government).
After catching the croc with a harpoon to the back, Craig
(and the twenty men it took him to tow the beast), Gomek was transported to an
enclosure on nearby Daru Island. It was
then that he was given his name, Craig’s backhanded compliment to a stingy
colleague of his. In contrast to his
savage reputation on the river, the captive Gomek was a rather placid,
easy-going animal… though still capable of exploding into action at the sight
of a food pail. When Australia granted
Papua New Guinea (including Daru Island) independence, Craig moved back to
Australia. He took Gomek with him,
installing him at Marineland Melanesia, an aquatic theme park on Australia’s
eastern seaboard. There, Gomek was
bigger and bigger audiences… and he got bigger and bigger himself.
It was Gomek’s size which brought him to the attention of
American adventurer and animal-dealer Arthur Jones, who purchased the big croc
in 1985. Jones was accompanied by film
star Bo Derek when he flew down to Australia to meet his new acquisition that
year; soon, Gomek was bound for the United States. For four years, Gomek was housed at the Jones
ranch, before making one final move – to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, in
1989.
Gomek lived at St. Augustine until his death in. The Farm’s goal was to acquire living
representatives of every species of crocodilian in the world, and Gomek was
their crown jewel. Housed in a special
tank with underwater viewing and an adjacent grassy lawn, the saltwater
crocodile was featured on billboards and radio ads across the south. Feeding demonstrations were packed as
horrified guests watched the giant hurl himself towards keepers offering nutria
and other treats. With the possible
exception of the first white alligators to be discovered and exhibited, I can
think of no crocodilian to ever rival Gomek’s star power.
In April of 1997, Gomek was found lying at the bottom of his
pool, having suffered a heart attack in his sleep. He was
between 60 and 80 years old, measured seventeen and a half feet long, and
weighed nearly a ton. Even in death he
would retain his celebrity status; following his necropsy, his massive body was
stuffed and installed in a customized pavilion, furnished with New Guinea
tribal artifacts (I always wondered what Gomek’s human victims would have
thought if they’d see what became of their killer).
St. Augustine would eventually acquire a new giant saltwater
crocodile – Maximo – and that is who I found grinning at me through the glass
during my first visit to the park. He
was the first saltwater crocodile I’d ever seen in the flesh, and I was
incredibly impressed. Still, there was
only one Gomek.
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