"Crocodile Canyon"

Oued El Glat & Hartéga Guelta, Tagant, Mauritania

Moudjéria and the Tagant Plateau expedition area

A guelta is a permanent or temporary pool fed by springs and surrounded by rocks. There are several small pools in the Oued El Glat which could be termed gueltas but the main one is Hartéga Guelta at the end of the gorge below a steep rocky waterfall, which was dry during our visit. This was our destination since it was the largest and deepest water course near Matmâta and the origin of crocodile reports.

There were two ways to visit the Hartéga Guelta at the upper end of Oued El Glat, by walking up the valley or driving back down to El Marshra and up onto the Tagant Plateau to approach from above. Both required stealth as the Matmâta crocodiles are extremely shy and wary creatures.

Views along the Oued El Glat
Many large boulders created hollows which retained water in the dry season but these were inhabited only by catfish and monitor lizards.

Walking up the Oued El Glat enabled us to check other possible gueltas for evidence of crocodile spoor ie. foot prints or tail-drag markings in the sand, we found Boulenger's agamas (Agama boulengeri) basking on the rocks and Senegalese geckos (Tarentola parvicarinata) lurking in the crevaces.

Boulenger's agama, Agama boulengeri, in Oued El Glat
Senegalese gecko, Tarentola parvicarinata

The lower and middle sections of Oued El Glat from the air, Matmâta camp would be located off the right of the image.

We checked every guelta we encountered and determined there were no crocodiles in residence. We did find evidence of Nile monitor lizards (Varanus niloticus) and eventually managed to capture one. Monitor lizards can make a living almost anywhere but this specimen looked like he was having a hard time finding much to eat.

Nile monitor lizard, Varanus niloticus, in Oued El Glat

An aerial shot looking up Oued El Glat to Hartéga Guelta and the dry waterfall.

The Hartéga Guelta at the top end of Oued El Glat was much larger than any other guelta, and presumably much deeper due to it containing a waterfall plunge-pool. This was where the Matmâta crocodiles were first sighted and where they were believed to still exist.

The upper section of Oued El Glat showing Hartéga Guelta, the largest expanse of water in the vicinity, home of the Matmâta crocodiles.

It was important to use stealth when approaching the guelta to avoid spooking the crocodiles, so we approached low to the sand and tried to spot them through the shimmering heat.

Approaching Hartéga Guelta.

We made several visits to the guelta, via Oued El Glat, and saw crocodiles on most occasions. The crocodiles here are smaller than those in tropical Africa and warrent recognition as a separate species, the Northwest African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus).

Observing from water-level. How many crocodiles can you see ? (then click to enlarge the image)

We also visited the guelta via the elevated Tagant Plateau and were able to look back down the oued and locate any crocodiles on the sand bars.

Hartéga Guelta from above.	Looking back down Oued El Glat.
Rigging the second camera (L-R) Director Jon, Mark, camera Mark and 2nd camera Jon.

We rigged our second camera above the guelta for Jon Pinkney and left him there to film crocodiles as and when they appeared.

Observing from above the guelta. How many crocodiles can you see ? (then click to enlarge the image)

Mark above the guelta.

We also found the only amphibians of the expedition in the shallow water and grasses along the guelta wall. The Eastern groove-crowned bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus occipitalis) is a widespread Saharan species.

Eastern groove-crowned bullfrog, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis