Update: We’ve turned crocodiles in Paris into a children’s book, click here for more info!
Did you know that back in 1984, council workers discovered a little crocodile living in the sewers near the Seine River in Paris (and apparently putting a dent in the local rat population).
The crocodile was captured by brave workers, taken to the nearby Paris zoo, then transferred to an aquarium in remote France, never to be heard from again.
But wait: did you know she is still very much alive? Here’s the video from my visit.
Regular listeners to this channel, The Earful Tower, know very well that she is alive after this episode about crocodile mysteries in Paris, but in case you’re new around here, here’s what Eleanore is up to today.
She lives in an enclosure in the aquarium of Vannes, a charming town on the southern coast of Brittany.
The best bit? Her enclosure is designed to look like the Paris sewer (see below).
When I visited this week, biologist Coralie Delorme took me behind the scenes to get a closer look at this crocodile with such a fascinating history.
The team reckons that Eleanore is a 40-year-old Nile Crocodile, once a Paris pet that grew too big. Nowadays, she’s about 2.5 metres long and weighs around 200 kg (8ft and 550 pounds) and she eats a chicken a week.
The story of Eleonore (plus more info on the town of Vannes) is a big part of this week’s podcast episode as we discussed Brittany and the things we discovered there on this honeymoon adventure. Click play to hear it below.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Google if you enjoy hearing about France, or sign up on Patreon to get way, way more from this honeymoon adventure around France.
I thought it was a myth !