Monopoly is the name of the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa. It’s a less-ventured farming industry that only a few people invest in due to the high cost involved. The cost of feeding these reptiles alone is extremely high. In addition, it’s strictly regulated since the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) classifies crocodiles as an endangered species.
Breeding, exporting of their meat and skin requires a special permit. Not to mention their long maturity, which ranges from three to five years. Nevertheless, the few crocodile farms in Africa are a major tourist attraction.
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Which are the Top 10 Crocodile Farms in Africa?
Although an African safari is exciting, consider spicing up your travel experience by visiting the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa. These farms give you a chance to see Nile crocodiles, the biggest and most aggressive crocodile species. Consider adding the following farms in your bucket list.
1. Thaba Kwena Crocodile Farm, Sun City, Pilanesberg (South Africa)
Thaba Kwena Crocodile Farm. Photo/Thaba Kwena
Located in the upscale Sun City Resort in Pilanesberg, Thaba Kwena Crocodile Farm is home to more than 7,000 Nile crocodiles. The farm holds the ‘Arnold’, the largest captive crocodile globally. Thaba offers guided tours, educational films, feeding spectacles, and free shuttle service to the farm.
2. Kachikally Crocodile Pool (Gambia)
Kachikally Crocodile Pool in Gambia. Photo/YouTube
Beyond being one of the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa, Kachikally Crocodile Pool is a holy place for the Gambians. They believe that it has mystical fertility powers. This pool houses approximately 80 tame crocodiles, which some visitors are allowed to touch and even play with them.
3. Paga Crocodile Pond (Ghana)
Paga Crocodile Pond in northern Ghana is a holy place with somewhat docile crocodiles. Visitors pet them and even take photos with them. These reptiles at Paga at Paga live up to the belief that they host the ghosts of Ghanaian ancestors; thus, they’re sacred.
4. Mamba Village, Mombasa (Kenya)
Mamba Village, Mombasa. Photo/Ventes Ventures
Mamba Village in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa is the most famous among the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa. The farm opened in 1972, and now over 15,000 crocodiles in 25 ponds. It has a large hatchery which distributes hatchlings to other farms.
5. Riverbend Crocodile Farm Southbroom (South Africa)
Riverbend Crocodile Farm Southbroom was the first commercial crocodile farm in South Africa. Official data indicates that over two million people visited it since its founding in 1981. It has shows about feeding, hatchlings and a snake house, wine choices and an art gallery.
6. Cango Wildlife Ranch in (South Africa)
Oudtshoorn-based Cango Wildlife Ranch opened in 1976 as the first of its kind in South Africa. It’s currently a zoo breeding crocodiles amongst other creatures and boasts exotic animal encounters including crocodile cage diving
7. Kazungula Crocodile Farm
Zambia has a special place among the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa. Kazungula Crocodile Farms sits in Kazungula, a small town in Zambia located in Southern Province. It borders Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. This positions it as one of the strategic tourist sites because it is near Victoria Falls (approximately 70km).
Victoria Falls in Southern Africa. Photo/Discover Africa Safaris
Kazungula is remains the first and largest crocodile farms in Zambia, founded in 1980. It was initially established as a commercial crocodile breeding farm, and later for crocodile skin export. It later transitioned to a tourist and education centre about crocodile farming.
There are more than 2,000 Nile crocodiles in this farm. Visitors see them during guided tours, which educate on the life cycle of crocodiles, starting as hatchlings, young and as adults.
8. Crocodile Watch (Namibia)
Established in 1985, Crocodile Watch is the largest crocodile farm in Namibia and a tourist attraction site. While you are here, expect to see how these reptiles feed during the summer.
9. Premier Crocodile Ranch (South Africa)
This ranch is in the outskirts of Tzaneene in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Premier Crocodile Ranch remains one of the oldest crocodile farms in South Africa and a major exporter of crocodile skins since its establishment in the 1970s. You learn so much about crocodile breeding, feeding and crocodile skin production from the hundreds of Nile crocodiles reared here.
10. Nairobi Mamba Village (Kenya)
Kenya appears severally among the top 10 crocodile farms in Africa. Two of its major cities, Nairobi and Mombasa, have crocodile farms. The Nairobi Mamba Village is located in the city’s suburbs of Karen. The village has about 100 Nile crocodiles that are never killed for their skin and meat like it is in the commercial farms.
