In the Belly of the Beast
June 11, 2007 1:38 PM Subscribe
Dr. Brady Barr wears a "croc suit" to crawl up to basking wild crocs, close enough to attach a scientific device. His disguise, created by National Geographic engineers, is a prosthetic head attached to the front of a protective metal cage covered with canvas and a generous plastering of hippo dung to mask his human scent.
Sez he:
My heart raced and I held my breath expecting the worst, all the while wondering if my little croc suit could withstand an attack from a half ton reptilian giant.
Also, an experiment monitoring crocs with a web cam and an RC racer.
Now that these photos have been published, his cover has been blown. I hope the crocs don't read The Daily Mail!
posted by Servo5678 at 1:41 PM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by Servo5678 at 1:41 PM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
Everybody wants prosthetic croc heads on their real heads!
posted by kimota at 2:42 PM on June 11, 2007 [11 favorites]
posted by kimota at 2:42 PM on June 11, 2007 [11 favorites]
Suddenly, I am overwhelmed by a compulsion to build a large wooden badger.
posted by Midnight Creeper at 2:54 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by Midnight Creeper at 2:54 PM on June 11, 2007
God, the shit people will go through to win an Ig Nobel.
So true. Caption to a picture in the article:
Dr Barr inside his hippo dung-smeared croc contraption
posted by YoBananaBoy at 2:57 PM on June 11, 2007
So true. Caption to a picture in the article:
Dr Barr inside his hippo dung-smeared croc contraption
posted by YoBananaBoy at 2:57 PM on June 11, 2007
Man am I ever relieved that it's not the shoe people making entire suits.
posted by Space Coyote at 3:05 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by Space Coyote at 3:05 PM on June 11, 2007
"Dr Barr also required an elaborate truss to prevent his enormous brass balls from clanging together."
posted by adamrice at 3:12 PM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 3:12 PM on June 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
Totally stolen from James Bond's crocodile submarine.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:15 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by kirkaracha at 3:15 PM on June 11, 2007
Once again, the liberal media gives away precious secrets to our enemies!
posted by papakwanz at 3:26 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by papakwanz at 3:26 PM on June 11, 2007
Thanks, kirkaracha.
*Queen's voice* "I dub thee The HMS Croctopussy!"
posted by rob511 at 3:40 PM on June 11, 2007
*Queen's voice* "I dub thee The HMS Croctopussy!"
posted by rob511 at 3:40 PM on June 11, 2007
Warning label: Croc Suit™ should not be worn during crocodile mating season.
posted by steef at 4:35 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by steef at 4:35 PM on June 11, 2007
a generous plastering of hippo dung to mask his human scent
Now he just needs to mask the scent of hippo dung and he's all set.
posted by DU at 4:50 PM on June 11, 2007
Now he just needs to mask the scent of hippo dung and he's all set.
posted by DU at 4:50 PM on June 11, 2007
The fifth comment on the first link is priceless: Anyone can put on a "disguise" and flop around in the mud and "pretend" to be a crocodile...Steve Erwin was NOT "just a zoo keeper or an entertainer", etc.
posted by DenOfSizer at 4:53 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by DenOfSizer at 4:53 PM on June 11, 2007
This brings several things to mind.
One, it kind of reminds me of this guy
Two, didn't native Americans sneak up on bison while wearing coyote or wolf skins? I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I'm sure I remember seeing scenes like this illustrated by various Western artists.
Three, if crocs are fooled by this, they must not be very smart...
posted by Tube at 5:37 PM on June 11, 2007
One, it kind of reminds me of this guy
Two, didn't native Americans sneak up on bison while wearing coyote or wolf skins? I know this sounds counterintuitive, but I'm sure I remember seeing scenes like this illustrated by various Western artists.
Three, if crocs are fooled by this, they must not be very smart...
posted by Tube at 5:37 PM on June 11, 2007
What a poor looking croc suit, it's amazing that they fell for it. I wonder if crocs are just really dumb, or if he was lucky or what.
posted by parallax7d at 7:00 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by parallax7d at 7:00 PM on June 11, 2007
Dr. Brady Barr: Croc pisser offer.
Seriously, did he consider approaching a little less aggressively? Is being a dick the best way to approach a croc? Thinking more about the RC camera here than his innovative dung suit, but was rushing up to them the best idea? National Geographic had a point about not feeding cameras to reptiles. He seemed a bit of a amateur to me.
posted by Toekneesan at 7:09 PM on June 11, 2007
Seriously, did he consider approaching a little less aggressively? Is being a dick the best way to approach a croc? Thinking more about the RC camera here than his innovative dung suit, but was rushing up to them the best idea? National Geographic had a point about not feeding cameras to reptiles. He seemed a bit of a amateur to me.
posted by Toekneesan at 7:09 PM on June 11, 2007
Dr. Brady Barr wears a "croc suit" to crawl up to basking wild crocs, close enough to attach a scientific device.
I love the vague description of the device. What does it do? Measures the speed of light through crocodile-related activity, for all we know.
posted by JHarris at 7:12 PM on June 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
I love the vague description of the device. What does it do? Measures the speed of light through crocodile-related activity, for all we know.
posted by JHarris at 7:12 PM on June 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Maybe he'll be mistaken for a female crocodile. That'd be a laugh.
posted by atchafalaya at 7:21 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by atchafalaya at 7:21 PM on June 11, 2007
There must be a law that requires that you mention that the hippo, the most dangerous animal in all of Africa, is the most dangerous animal in all of Africa every time you mention its name.
posted by stavrogin at 8:59 PM on June 11, 2007 [24 favorites]
posted by stavrogin at 8:59 PM on June 11, 2007 [24 favorites]
If I had that mission, I would test the croc suit out first by throwing it in with the crocs with a big piece of meat inside, then I wouldn't have to wonder if it could stand up to an attack, I'd know.
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:22 PM on June 11, 2007
posted by BrotherCaine at 10:22 PM on June 11, 2007
I just know this guy is going to die in some bizarre accident involving a hummingbird.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:00 PM on June 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by dirigibleman at 11:00 PM on June 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
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