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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 16 September 07
20 September 07 Man, attacked by crocodile, Lives to tell the tale
A Malay villager escaped with just injuries to his ear, arm and stomach after a 4-metre/13 foot crocodile attacked him.
''I was in waist-deep water near the river bank
when the crocodile suddenly appeared and attacked me. … ''It bit
me on my waist and I put up a fight.''
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/20/nation/20070920173054&sec=nation 20 September 07 Night of the gator in Florida
Another gator-hunting story from Florida.
Catching an alligator with a snatch hook is not as easy as it might seem. An alligator's skin is tough and hook barbs rarely penetrate. If the hook breaks free while the hunter pulls hard on his fishing rod, the treble hook can come flying back at the hunter.
Unlicensed observers of the hunt were not allowed near the alligator
until the tag was secure. (News Editor
Query: Why?)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2007/09/20/a1c_outdoors_0920.html 20 September 07 Man who lost arm to gator Could get creature's Head on his wall
The S Carolina man who lost his arm to an
alligator could soon have the creature's head nailed to his wall.
The state contractor who caught the reptile says the victim has
expressed interest in the head of the 11-foot, 550 pound alligator that
was killed after the attack.
(See also 18 September 07
Remain wary of gators)
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=53745 19 September 07 Fears surface after rare 'gator attack
While the violent behavior displayed by a nearly 12-foot/3.7 meter -long alligator over the weekend is considered rare, the attack on 59-year-old Bill Hedden has sparked a firestorm of concern about the number of large alligators in South Carolina recreational areas, particularly lakes Moultrie and Marion.
Hedden and
crowds of others enjoying the outdoors were in the Short Stay Navy
Outdoor Recreation Area which posts numerous signs warning the public to
be aware of gators and asks park guests not to feed the reptiles. DNR spokesperson Sam Chappelear told The Times that officials "have no idea" why the 'gator attacked as he has not yet been able to interview Hedden the only person who witnessed the incident.
According to Chappelear, there have only been nine reported alligator bites, including Hedden's, since the DNR began keeping records 28 years ago. There is no record of a fatality as a result of an alligator bite, but Chappelear called Hedden's injuries the worst alligator attack in S Carolina.
Chappelear said the eight other alligator incidents were a "bite and release" attack during which an alligator struck because it felt threatened. In one case, an alligator bit a man after he poked it with his golf club and in another incident an alligator bit a human after it was accidentally stepped on.
Chappelear said
that people can help themselves by respecting alligators' space and not
feeding them.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18831130&BRD=2081&PAG=461&dept_id=385210&rfi=6 18 September 07 Lowcountry gator deemed dangerous
The story
behind the capture of a Georgia gator, probably fed by people, that
wandered too close to an urban area.
http://www.wsav.com/midatlantic/sav/news.apx.-content-articles-SAV-2007-09-18-0015.html 18 September 07 Man found dead, Suffered from croc attack
‘Apparently’ …
he bled to death after being bitten by a crocodile. Police continue
their investigations.
http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=6430
19 September 07 Editorial: A life saved, but deal with gators
One papers’ reaction to the Bill Hedden/gator incident, the high point of which is an timely and inspired accolade to the five nurses who were on scene and treated Mr Hedden so well. The article
then goes on to allude to public responsibilities when travelling in
known gator habitat, and presents their assessment that a South Carolina
alligator hunting season is in order.
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/sep/19/life_saved_deal_gators/ 19 September 07 Snapped Up - French luxury brand Hermès Purchases US alligator hide tannery
The largest alligator hide tannery in the United States, Roggwiller Tannery of Lafayette, has been swallowed by Hermès International, one of the premier luxury goods houses in the world.
It is estimated that production and employment will double over the next two to three years, and approximately 120,000 skins out of the 300,000 processed in an average year in Louisiana will pass through the Lafayette plant.
The tanned hides are valued anywhere from $200-$800 apiece depending on size and quality.
“We have always sold 20-25 percent of our skins to Hermès. Hermès is looking for the crème de la crème. We need to find customers for the other quality, because all of the skins are not perfect.” Seeking perfection seems to be a trend; Gucci and other couturieres have also recently purchased tanneries to assure themselves of the first rate leather demanded by the fashion industry.
Hermès is one of the oldest family-owned
businesses in France. Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, the leather
shop specialized in horse harnesses for carriages and hand-stitched
saddles. The clientèle was the rich nobility of France as well as
European royalty, including emperors and kings.
http://www.theind.com/news2.asp?CID=1513879532 19 September 07 Mensvreterkrokodil verewig
From Namibia we
learn that: “‘n Krokodil wat as ‘n mensvreter bestempel word wat terreur
onder die inwoners in die Buffalo-omgewing in die Kavango gesaai het,
het inwoners van Outjo se verbeelding aangegryp ná die Retoma
taksidermie op die dorp getaak is om die dier op te stop.” … and other
gems in the Afrikaans language that I know nothing about.
http://www.republikein.com.na/content/nuus/2007/Sep/19_mens.php 18 September 07 Locals Spot 12-Foot Alligator In Road
[Paperboy Note: This article has one of the best closing lines that I’ve read in -any- herp-related press in a long time. Wes]
Folks in Rusk County, Texas have told local authorities that there is a 12-foot/4-metre alligator in their neighborhood, and it likes taking a stroll along a local road.
Locals said it's is the perfect environment for an alligator to live in. On one side of the road there's an entire swamp. On the other side, a bayou. Locals said the gator is just going back and forth to both.
"Oh, he was friendly, he didn't try to take a bite out of nobody. I mean we didn't mess with him and he didn't bother us," a local said.
And that's exactly what game wardens advised:
Don't touch it, terrorize it, or hunt it. That way more people can
see the amazing 12-foot, one ton, 20-something year old East Texas
alligator.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7094505&nav=1TjD 18 September 07 Confirmation de la présence d'un crocodile dans l'étang de Canet
In France, a
metre/3-foot-long crocodile has been seen in a local pond. Wildlife
officials are trying to humanely capture it using chicken scraps and a
jury-rigged trap.
http://www.tdg.ch/pages/home/tribune_de_geneve/info_express/monde/detail_monde/(contenu)/133672
Französische Polizei auf Der Jagd nach einem Krokodil
As above, but
in German.
http://www.baz.ch/news/index.cfm?ObjectID=1454F094-1422-0CEF-70DB8EFAD057C857
18 September 07 Fifth croc found in Negros Occidental canal
Philippine residents of a village in Bago City expressed fear for their children's safety after finding a 4 kilo/9 pound, metre/3-foot-long saltwater crocodile -- the fifth -- in a nearby irrigation canal on Sunday.
Residents, who believe the crocodile came from the nearby Negros Wildlife Farm, have drafted a petition against the farm management and asked for the farm's fences to be better secured.
The caretaker of the crocodile farm insisted they don't have any missing reptiles. (See 12 September 07 'No cause for crocodile alarm' for related story) http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=89276 18 September 07 Gotcha gators: 66 harvested From Reservoir; record set
Mississippi's record for alligator hunting grew by the slightest of margins over the weekend, as hunters continued to find the biggest reptiles on Ross Barnett Reservoir.
The largest of the 66 gators caught over the two three-day weekend seasons was 13 foot, 3/4-inch/3.96 metres.
"The population out there is the most dense that we have in Mississippi," 3,000 would be a conservative estimate for the number that reside in the 33,000-acre lake.
A sign of the growing interest in the season is that an average of 1,200 applicants have entered the drawing each year for Barnett, and crowds have grown at the boat ramps and weigh-in to get a look a the big ones.
Two Weekends Of Alligator Hunting, By The Numbers: - Length of new record taken by John McLeod of Brandon 13' 3/4"/3.96 metres - Total number of permitted hunters to participate (120 drawn) 108 - Total alligators harvested 66 - Estimated number of alligators caught and released alive 90 http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070918/NEWS/709180387/1001
18 September 07 20 million-year-old Cuban crocodile fossils
Cuban speleologists discovered fossil remains of giant crocodiles that are 20 million years old. The fossils were discovered 30 metres below a slope in a cave, 350 km east of Havana. http://www.javno.com/en/lifestyle/clanak.php?id=81802
18 September 07 Remain wary of gators - S.Carolina attacks rare, But officials warn against contact
An alligator attack on a human, such as the one that ripped the arm off a snorkeler in the Charleston area over the weekend, is highly unusual, according to experts on the Grand Strand, where gators flourish in waterways and - occasionally - golf course and neighborhood ponds.
There have been no confirmed deaths in South Carolina involving an alligator attack, state wildlife officials said. Statewide, officials have received nine reports of alligators that have bitten people in the 28 years that Department of Natural Resources records have been kept.
Bill Hedden of Summerville, a retired master chief with the U.S. Navy, was snorkeling in Lake Moultrie at the Short Stay Navy Outdoor Recreation Area when the 550 lb/22.7 kg alligator tore his arm from his shoulder. His arm was retrieved from the belly of the 11ft-10 in/3.4 m alligator after wildlife officers shot the animal. The limb was rushed to the Medical University of South Carolina in an ice cooler with a police escort, but officials said Monday efforts to reattach the arm were unsuccessful.
It's unclear how Hedden came to be attacked on Sunday. The alligator involved in Sunday's incident was between 35 and 40 years old, he said. It had probably lived in those waters for many years.
"It's not like these gators pop up overnight; they've been there for a while," Chappelear said. "Something has to change for them. Those that have been fed that lose their fear of humans and are typically the ones where you suspect that type of behavior. If you know you're in gator-infested waters, there's always a first time for everything. We'd never had anything like this happen until [Sunday]."
Travis Correll, head lecturer for Alligator Adventure in North Myrtle Beach, has worked with alligators for 10 years and said once they're fed by humans, they associate humans with food. "Alligators aren't blood-thirsty animals like many people make them out to be. It's when people start to interact with alligators is when people start to get hurt," Correll said.
The state receives about 800 complaints annually about nuisance alligators and about 200 are removed and destroyed, Chappelear said. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/191501.html 18 September 07 Severed arm in alligator grin
From the major UK tabloid, we have a series of graphic photos of the incident. Warning: Contains graphic images. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007430271,00.html 17 September 07 Push for alligator hunting In South Carolina
A man from Summerville, South Carolina, USA is recovering after an alligator bit off his arm while snorkeling in Lake Moultrie. Officials with the Department of Natural Resources say a 12-ft/3.7 m - long 600 lb/272 kg alligator bit off 59 year old Bill Hedden's arm.
He was snorkeling in an undesignated swimming area. EMS crews transported him to MUSC where he was listed in critical condition late Sunday night. The family has asked that the hospital not release any more information about his condition.
Alligator hunting is illegal in South Carolina--but some state lawmakers say if people were allowed to hunt them. It would help control the alligator population and may have prevented Sunday's attack.
"The public needs this, public safety demands it and I hope the public speaks up to the house of representatives that they need to pass this bill and get a hunting season," said Senator Glenn McConnell, a co-sponsor of a bill introduced last February that calls for an alligator hunting season in South Carolina. It passed the state but remains stalled in the house.
Link to the Bill: http://scstatehouse.net/sess117_2007-2008/bills/452.htm http://www.wcbd.com/midatlantic/cbd/news.apx.-content-articles-CBD-2007-09-17-0019.html
16 September 07 Gharials in sub-continent Face uncertain future: IUCN
The fish-eating crocodiles in the Indian sub-continent, better known as gharials, are facing a bleak future, having lost their habitat to increasing riverine and fishing activities, a global conservation organisation has said.
There are merely 182 breeding adults left in the wild in Nepal and India, according to the organisation.
The main threats for this species are construction of dams and barrages, irrigation canals and artificial embankments and sand mining in and around their habitat, says the organisation. "There were 436 breeding adults in 1997 but by 2006, this number has declined to just 182, a reduction of 58 per cent in just over ten years," an IUCN report pointed out. http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=395275&ssid=26&ssname=Eco%20News&sid=ENV&sname= 16 September 07 Alligator gawkers get eyeful Of mouthful of teeth at festival
A report on the Texas Gator Fest at Fort Anahuac Park where a dead 7-foot/2 metre alligator was on display.
"It's very cool," said 7-year-old Lakin Blasberg of Bacliff, who had just run out of the funeral tent after excitedly feeling the dead gator's tail with his 4-year-old cousin, Cade Dye.
Andrea Ayers, an Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge volunteer, held a 20-day-old alligator for people to touch.
"I've never touched a real one," said Destinee Springer, 8, of Anahuac, adding that the ones she's seen were usually on the spillway or in the refuge. "It feels soft, but it looks so hard and scaly." 16 September 07 Reptile reports reveal Challenges in the night
This is a report on the experiences of hunters during the Mississippi gator hunting season.
"They were hooked up with something and couldn't deal with it ... "All of a sudden this huge gator jumped completely out of the water like a bass," a hunter said. "Those two guys saw it, and hollered. 'There he is! He's breaching!' like, it was a whale.
The gator measured 12 feet, 3 inches/3.7 metres and weighed 484 pounds/219 kilos. Its head was 4 feet around at the jowls. He was the largest of 11 gators caught Friday, the first night of the second and final weekend of the season on Barnett Reservoir. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/COL0503/709160339/0/SPORTS08 15 September 07 Alligator finds caregiver In Pennsylvania
Ed Woods is now caring for the 3-foot/metre-long alligator discovered a few weeks ago malnourished on the shore of a local lake in Pennsylvania, USA.
A member of Pittston-based TK's Safari Reptile Rescue and Adoption, the Newport Township resident volunteered to house the animal until it could be matched with a proper home, possibly a reptile sanctuary.
What is more of a concern to Mr. Woods, and other members of the group, is someone abandoned the animal that is not native to Pennsylvania, rather than turning it over to the proper authorities, a trend he says is becoming more common. This is the second alligator found locally TK's has rescued in three months. http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18820744&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6 14 September 07 'World's Largest Alligator' contender Donated to Alabama refuge
One of the largest alligators in captivity now calls Baldwin County in Alabama home. Tipping the scales at almost 800 pounds/360 kilos and 13 feet, 8 inches/4.1 meters long, the alligator "Big T" was donated to Alligator Alley, a refuge in Summerdale. http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20070914/APN/709140659 14 September 07 Young alligator Leaves Va. zoo, becomes pet
It was a short stay at a Virgina zoo for the young alligator captured in Lake Holly in Va. Beach.
Zoo officials said state wildlife officials picked up the gator Thursday. 13News learned Friday afternoon that the alligator was given to a local, unidentified citizen as a pet. http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_091407_gator_gone_.d2c866e2.html 14 September 07 Injured alligator destroyed After twice wandering onto highway
An injured 9.5 foot/2.9 metre alligator had to be removed from S Carolina's U.S. 278 'twice' before it was ultimately hauled from a lagoon and harvested for meat.
This is only the third time in 12 years that Maffo, the area's primary alligator wrangler, has heard about gators on U.S. 278 in Bluffton. http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/6664338p-5939151c.html 13 September 07 Alabama gator hunters 'score'
Another 'hunter experience' piece resulting from Alabama's hunt.
Four alligator hunters may have heard the theme music from the movie "Jaws" playing in the background as they wrestled with a hooked 12.5 foot/3.8 metre, 480 pound/217 kilo gator that pulled their boat around the Mobile River delta and then, in an outrage, charged the boat and bit into the fiberglass hull.
The gator was just shy of the state record of 12 feet, 10 inches but ranked in the top three killed during the season.
One of the hunters said the group learned a lot of things during the hunt. He said they were lucky that they had a larger boat. A smaller one could have been overturned by the gator's attack or as they tried to load it. http://www.clarkecountydemocrat.com/news/2007/0913/front_page/002.html 13 September 07 First Mississippi gator hunt season Yields 37 alligators
The stats produced by the first weekend of alligator hunting on Mississippi's Barnett Reservoir:
- 37 total alligators harvested by 49 registered hunters. - 6 gators over 10 feet, 11 more over 7 feet, and 20 under 17 feet. - 25 taken by rod, reel and snatch hook, 11 by bowfishing equipment and 1 with snare and noosepole. - 8 hunters got the 2 alligator limit (only one could exceed 7 feet). - Longest was 12 feet, 3 inches, and weighed 472 pounds. - The heaviest was 488 pounds and measured 10 feet, 2 1/2 inches with an estimated 2 feet of tail missing. http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/SPORTS08/709130340/1127/SPORTS 13 September 07 Fantastic tale of Gwendolyn Gator - 77-year-old woman Kills two massive alligators
Texan gator hunter Gwendolyn Wunneburger ... 77.
The 4-ft-5/1.4 m, 110 lb/50 kg Wunneburger, who lives in Lakeway, has hunted wild game all over the world. She has stalked leopards in Africa and grizzly bear in Montana, but said Wednesday's hunt was one of her most exhilarating.
"Not many people go after big alligators because they're dangerous," she said. "I can go out on my own and hunt deer. But I can't do anything with these things all by myself.
"Those alligators will come after you. They'll swing their big old tails and, if they get you with it, it's all over."
Wunneburger, who was a big fan of the late "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin, went onto the bank and shot her alligator between the eyes from about 20 feet/6 meters away. http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/428/story/121006.html 11 September 07 Gator Harvesting On grounds of Angola Prison
Louisiana's Angola Prison officials have decided to turn their 'dangerous gator' problem into a profit by organizing gator hunts. So far, they've killed nine gators and readied them for market. Not all of the gators on the prison's grounds will be hunted though. Warden Burl Cain says, "They guard inmates and the inmates know they're there and it kind of deters them from going on the water, so they stay on the ground, so the bloodhounds can follow them better, and so forth, so they can't run away."
Warden Cain says he'll probably harvest alligators every year, now that they're reproducing so quickly. This year, he says they only plan to harvest about 20 alligators. The rest he'll leave for intimidation purposes. http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7060581&nav=menu57_4 12 September 07 Crocodile kept for meat at restaurant Severely injures worker
In Vietnam, Hanoi's Saint Paul Hospital treated a restaurant worker whose hand was seriously bitten by an escaped crocodile that was to be slaughtered for meat. The 26-year old lost hand ligaments" but is expected to recover.
The worker was sleeping on the floor of restaurant when he was attacked by a 9kg/20 pound crocodile, which had broken out of its cage. http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=31890
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