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CROCODOPOLIS world of crocodilians TM SCIENCE · CULTURE · INDUSTRY · NEWS · COMMUNICATION · CONSERVATION
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NEWS
The CROC PRESS Regular coverage of crocodilians and people in headlines worldwide.
Wes von Papineäu, News Page Editor Email: crocnews@crocodopolis.net _________________________________________________
Week of 27 July 08
CROCTV:
22 July 08 Gator water dance
When you're a male gator looking for a mate, you don't need a dance floor to make all the right moves; the warm waters of the Everglades will do just fine, thank you. (Video: © National Geographic.) See it here.
29 July 08 Officials catch, euthanize Utah pond alligator
The Division of Wildlife Resources caught a 3-foot-long American gator after a family of fishers reported the unusual spectacle at a Utah fishing pond.
DWR Officer Pam Wheeler speculated someone may have been keeping the alligator as a pet, but that it eventually outgrew its welcome.
Lt. Scott Dalebout, of the DWR's southern regional office, said online sales of wild animals have been problematic in the past. Dalebout said federal charges can be brought against people who move wild animals across state lines.
Officials took the alligator to the Division of Wildlife Resources Cedar City office, where they decided to euthanize it.
Said Wheeler:
"It's pretty difficult to find a place for an animal like this. When
it's going to be getting big and dangerous, it's not very likely we'll
find a place."
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10028480
http://www.standard.net/live/news/139184/ 28 July 08 White River gator recuperating - DNR will decide fate of runaway reptile
A 3 foot/metre-long North American alligator was recuperating Monday after being pulled out of Indiana’s White River over the weekend.
“Gators are pretty durable, they’ve been around forever,” Ed Roemer, owner of Night Stalkers Pet Emporium said. “By looking at him, I’d say he’s been in the river maybe a month or so. He’s a little bit thin, but his tail is solid.”
Roemer believes
the gator was captured in the wild, was released by its owner and has
been living on fish. He said North American gators are common in
Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, but could not survive an Indiana
winter.
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/statenews/local_story_210193354.html 26 July 08 Tata zoo gives up gharial hope
Further to the previously posted 15
July 08
Gharial found in Bengal -
Officials in Betla play cupid As fugitive from Tata zoo caught
and
29 June 08
'Fugitive' gharial spotted,
not caught, in Galudih
Authorities of Tata Steel Zoological Society (TSZS) apparently have lost all hope of welcoming back the third Gangetic gharial that was washed away with two other gharials and a crocodile in the June 18 flash floods.
The director of the TSZS, M.S. Jain, said: “We have lost all hope of getting the third gharial back, as it has been traceless for over a month now.”
Interestingly,
the crocodile travelled less than the gharials and was caught on the zoo
premises.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080726/jsp/jharkhand/story_9601606.jsp 26 July 08 Thirsty croc raids NT caravan
A 43 cm/ 1.4
foot crocodile shows up in a Northern territory living room … apparently
on a quest for … beer!
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/07/26/4807_ntnews.html 26 July 08 Birth control for crocodiles at Vandalur
Surgeons of the Madras Veterinary College, have performed a non-invasive birth control surgery on two male Mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) in Vandalur Zoo to control breeding and inbreeding. This is the first time in the world that such a surgery has been conducted, says zoo authorities.
The doctors stress that the procedure is different from castration and only involves the fusion of the spermatazoan groove to prevent sperm transfer.
Of note, "… since reptiles have good regenerative powers, the effects of the surgery may only be temporary and the animals may be able to breed after six months."
Not all experts subscribe to surgury.
Nikhil Whitaker,
curator of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) says, "I feel the best
way to control numbers is to segregate the crocodiles in separate
enclosures. It’s good that they have been able to do such a surgery but
I have reservations about the ethics of it. And we would not be adopting
any such measures at the MCBT."
25 July 08 Overflowing rivers Bring crocs to Lucknow outskirts
The recent incidents of crocodiles being spotted in and around Lucknow is being attributed to the overflowing rivers in the Indian state, which besides posing a threat to the human life, has also resulted in the loss of natural habitat of many animals.
Crocodiles that live in rivers like Chambal,
Sharda and Ghagra in the state is worst affected by rising water levels.
According to the forest department, change in river courses or rivers
flowing over the danger marks during monsoons have led to crocodiles
landing in some unusual places.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Overflowing-rivers-bring-crocs-to-Lucknow-outskirts/340306/ 25 July 08 Panic in Gambia
In Gambia, residents of Bakau Kachikally feel threatened by a crocodile that was reported to come out during rainy nights to try to attack people who pass by the gutters around the area.
Eyewitness
further stated that one crocodile attacked and killed two sheep - Others
added that the crocodiles do enter their compounds and … hide under
their beds.
http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/7/25/panic-in-katchikaly 24 July 08 Crocodile relocated to new home
A long and sympathetic report on the efforts of the local American Crocodile Endangered Sanctuary (ACES) to protect populations of Crocodylus acutus (the American crocodile) through relocation.
Of interest, when one of the captured, to-be-relocated crocs was given it’s pre-release physical examination, ACES staff observed: “… the American Crocodile was an eight foot two inches/2.5 metre adult female with a weight of approximately 300 pounds/135 kilos - the Crocodile was obese - primarily due to chicken feedings.
The crocs tail scutes (horny plates or thorny
scales), were battered, torn and some missing, whilst a spear gun hole
was also noticeable on the left side of her dorsal scute mid-body.
They determined that the croc suffered from bacterial infections on her
skin indicating that the water in the lake that she came from is
extremely unhealthy – ‘If an animal with the strongest immune system in
the world is showing ill signs from water contamination, just think what
that water could do to people!’ ”
http://www.sanpedrosun.net/08-291.html 23 July 08 Monster crocs slaughtered
Two giant Australian crocodiles found dead were shot by trophy hunters. Both of the crocs were more than 4m/16 ft long and up to 50 years old.
One of the 'salties' had its neck mutilated in what appeared to be a failed attempt to behead it.
Their corpses were discovered belly-up in the Adelaide River and the senseless slaughters have outraged tour operators and authorities.
"Everyone was
shocked and angry,'' said long-time Territorian Harry Bowman -- an
Adelaide River Wildlife Cruise tour guide; "They (the crocs) are our
business partners -- without them we don't have tours.'' The culprits
could face a maximum fine of $55,000 and six years jail.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/07/23/4765_ntnews.html 23 July 08 Juvenile alligator netted in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, Bucks County animal control officer Craig Claycomb's netted a 76 centimetre alligator near a new home construction site.
The find comes
at a perfect time for Bucks County resident Joe Fortunato. He's opening
a teaching zoo, Animal Junction, in Warminster, and says he'll add the
alligator to his collection. He already has a two-foot crocodile and two
small alligators.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/16964740/detail.html
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080723_Bucks_County_officials_wrangle_another_gator.html 23 July 08 Another crocodile caught from Indian village pond
Exactly after a gap of ten days since an adult crocodile was caught from a pond in India’s Fattepurwa village, a forest team rescued another such crocodile from a pond in Bhakamau village.
Experts,
however, do not find sighting of crocodiles in the monsoon period a rare
phenomenon as the animals are believed to have moved through the
over-flowing and inter-connected water bodies from one locality to
another. 22 July 08 Trained crocodiles deployed as forest guards
In a repeat of last year's exercise, India’s Orissa forest personnel have let loose a large group of 57 captively bred crocodiles into water bodies of Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary to ward off human interference into the fast-depleting mangrove forest.
Crocodiles are seemingly performing the role of 'honourary
forest guards' in the core area of the Wildlife sanctuary as fear of
marauding crocs checked human intrusion in many areas of the sanctuary,
forest officials aver.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Trained-crocodiles-deployed-as-forest-guards/338868/ 21 July 08 Crocodile kills fisherman
Two items about an Indian fisherman who was killed by a crocodile while fishing in Ghodazari tank, a medium irrigation project in Nagbhid tehsil.
According to information received, the victim went into the water wearing an inflatable tube in order to retrieve his net when a crocodile caught his leg and tried to drag him deeper.
The fisherman
cried for help, but got none and subsequently succumbed to the
crocodile’s attack. While people
say the fisher-folk did know that the lake was inhabited by a few
crocodiles, none expected the dreaded reptile to venture into waters
'disturbed' by human activity.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Crocodile_kills_fisherman/rssarticleshow/3257114.cms
http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/384872 20 July 08 Villagers in Sri Lanka wrestle with Problem of large crocodile visitor
Sri Lankan villagers were on their way home after their day’s work when they found a 10-foot/3-metre salt-water crocodile lazing in a canal outside of Pannipitiya village.
In minutes, the entire village had arrived on the scene to see the “unexpected guest”. Some of the villagers wanted to call the police or wildlife officials, but most were in favour of keeping a watch on the crocodile and making sure it would not harm anyone. The villagers made a quick decision to capture the croc, without further delay.
The rest of the item details the enthusthistic, if somewhat dangerous method that the villagers used to subdue the animal, and how they finally got it moved.
Department of Wildlife Conservation officials rushed to Pannipitiya to inspect the crocodile and they decided to relocate it to Uda Walawe. Officials advised against heroic attempts to grapple with crocodiles, adding that if a croc is spotted, the department should be informed and will send a team to do the needful.
“Trying to catch a crocodile is dangerous - such attempts can be harmful to both the animal and those trying to catch it.”
The crocodile’s
natural diet is fish. Dr. Anslem De Silva, a crocodile specialist said,
but the practice of dumping animal carcasses as garbage has resulted in
some crocs getting a taste for animal flesh.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080720/Plus/sundaytimesplus_22.html 19 July 08 Crocodile killing nipped in the bud
In Sri Lanka, officers attached to the Puttalam police recovered the flesh and head of an illegally killed 12 foot/ 3.6 metre-long crocodile, along with the weapons used to kill it.
Officers acting
on information received by the police emergency unit, were able to track
down and put a stop to the unlawful exercise of killing crocodiles for
their flesh. http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=20887 18 July 08 See you later, Illinois gator...
The alligator that had been creeping around the Illinois Lake Renwick Heron Rookery Nature Preserve is headed to a new, more appropriate home with the Chicago Herpetological Society.
After being trapped with a caged raw chicken lure, his mouth was shut with string and put a T-shirt over its head as it sat in the plastic tub awaiting the CHS arrival.
As the docile alligator laid nearly limp in his captors' arms, Bob, a member of the society who declined to give his last name, said "He's such a pet. He's not even trying to fight me,"
"He's used to being held. He's not tense; he's not nervous," Bob said as the alligator relaxed on his forearm. "If this was not a pet I'd be fighting up a storm right now."
The society
plans to keep the gator, which they dubbed Annabelle, quarantined for
several months to ensure the creature is disease-free, then will
rehabilitate the reptile to survive in the wild.
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