By mid-morning, it seems, every creature in this sleepy seaside town is stirring. It's showtime for Michael Griffiths. With his boatload of tourists watching agape, he stands on the bow and splashes a chicken breast in the murky waters. An eight-foot crocodile cautiously inches forward, lured from a mangrove shelter by the promise of the tasty morsel.
Cameras start clicking.
But in a flash the beast is gone, spooked by the engine of another boat. Griffiths, who leads such tours five days a week, had a close call a few years ago when a crocodile sank its teeth into his wrist, causing a bloody scare and leaving serious scars. I give them a little bit of food and they don't eat me. Sometimes I pet them on the head, you know, to let them know I care. Not always were Jamaica's saltwater crocodiles so coddled.