How The British Made Crocodiles Evil

From Wild Stories by Elliot Connor

March 26, 2026 · 26 min · Season 1 · Episode 20

About this episode

The episode explores the historical relationship between Belizeans and crocodiles, detailing how colonial influences led to a drastic change in perception and treatment of these animals.

Once upon a time in Belize people worshipped crocodiles, swam alongside them, treated them as family. Then within two generations the nation turned against them and almost wiped them out. This is the story of how a greedy empire with an eye for gossip obliterated an entire country's wildlife - and what happens now - with ethnozoologist and crocodile wrangler Dr Marisa Tellez. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Elliot Connor

Guest: Dr Marisa Tellez

Topics covered

crocodiles
wildlife conservation
ethnozoology
British Empire
Belize
animal worship
environmental impact

Keywords

crocodiles
Belize
British Empire
wildlife
ethnozoology
Dr Marisa Tellez
animal conservation
history
nature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Acast, British Empire

Places: Belize