Thai man drinks crocodile blood twice a day

A businessman in southern Thailand claims his secret to great health is by drinking crocodile blood mixed with alcohol twice a day. He says he used to be exhausted but is now full of life after two months on the reptile juice.

Every day, 52 year old Rojakorn Nanon from Na Tham Tai subdistrict in Trang province starts and finishes off his day with a glass of crocodile blood mixed with lao khao (Thai white spirit). He believes that the cocktail nourishes the body, the blood, and the nervous system. He says it is ancient wisdom.

Rojakorn says he used to be physically weak. After tasting the crocodilian blood, he said he felt much better. He began drinking a cup of the alcoholic blood in the morning and one at night and now he swears by the stuff. He says the drink probably only exists in Trang province due to the prevalence of crocodile farms.

Rojakorn’s crocodile blood is supplied by 53 year old Wanchai Chaikerd, the owner of a crocodile farm in Ban Pho subdistrict in Trang province. He is also the chairman of the Trang Crocodile Breeding Group, reports KhaoSod.

Wanchai says he has run the freshwater crocodile farm for five or six years already. With a current population of 120 crocodiles, it is the biggest farm of its kind in the province, claims Wanchai.

Before the pandemic, Wanchai mostly raised crocodiles to sell to buyers in central provinces for high prices. Most customers bought them for meat. However, Covid-19 made it difficult to export crocodiles anywhere, so he sold them locally for a discounted 4,500 – 8000 baht each.

Then, locals began flocking to Wanchai’s farm in search of crocodile blood, he claims. Wanchai says that crocodiles have very little blood. One of the reptiles contains only 100cc of blood or about one to two glasses.

The croc farmer says that the most beneficial blood comes from crocodiles between three and a half to four years old, which is the age a croc is strongest.

He claims the health benefits are plenty: helps circulation, strengthens red blood cells, increases platelet count and white blood cells, and nourishes egg and sperm cells. He claims that crocodile blood even cures infertility.

But as Wanchai can get only one or two glasses from each croc, he mixes the blood with lao khao to make it go further. He sells each glass for 200-300 baht.

The meat of the sacrificed reptiles is eaten and then their skins are used to make medicines, bags, belts, shoes and jewellery, said Wanchai.

Wanchai said that a crocodile sells for 10,000 baht if it is sold with the skin. If its scales are removed first, then it sells for 5,000 – 6,000 baht depending on the size.