Crocodile assassination

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Tourism is a great solution when used on a small scale but collapses when talking large scale.
- If you are the only town with crocs, tourists will queue up to see them.
- If they are common over a 1500 mile stretch of coast with hundreds of towns, there are not enough tourists to go around.

Yup... the Kakadu Crocs reckon its slim pickings these days... them tourists are getting cunning... Tour guide knew crocs were in billabong - National - www.theage.com.au

[Jim Cate]

Ping, I guess that I am kinda ambivalent: crocs in the Kakadu, OK, crocs in the Mary river near to town, not OK, crocs swimming in the marina in Manly (should that develop) WAY not OK.

Jim

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by LongRange

It is the crocodile's natural habitat. Those who don't like crocodiles should not purchase property in the area, and they certainly should not shoot crocodiles (or any other wildlife) of their own volition. In Australia that is illegal, and it is environmental vandalism in any jurisdiction.

So how about Sydney funnelweb spiders? Native to the area, but if you lived there would you be happy to share your home with them?

[Seaslug Caravan]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

So how about Sydney funnelweb spiders? Native to the area, but if you lived there would you be happy to share your home with them?

Kkkkkk???

What, are people allowed to shoot Funnelweb spiders in Sydney?

Or do people in the North of Australia all live in Billabongs?

[Wotname]

Hmm... once there were many crocs and few people, then there were many people and few crocs; now there are many people and many crocs.

Something has to give, if the people don't act, the crocs will...

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Seaslug Caravan

Kkkkkk???

What, are people allowed to shoot Funnelweb spiders in Sydney?

................

Shoot
Squish

[JPA Cate]

Yeah, but Wottie, You can only squish crocs when they're in the eggs. And Momma Croc might not like you doing it.

Ann

[Wotname]

^^ err... thinking more about the Funnelwebs SC mentioned!

[tp12]

I'm definitely not a fan of the 'I'm scared of them, lets kill them' attitude.

Their population may very well need to be controlled but without accurate population and distribution numbers it's just a guess.

The 24m+ feral pigs in Aus are a bigger problem, IMO.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Seaslug Caravan

Kkkkkk???

What, are people allowed to shoot Funnelweb spiders in Sydney?

Or do people in the North of Australia all live in Billabongs?

I can think of someone dumb enough to try shooting a spider.

You'd probably miss, just like you missed the point.

[hellosailor]

When I was a kid, we went hiking and camping and playing in the woods, even in preserves, with no worries because for the last 200-300 years, folks were busy exterminating wolves and bears and cougars and most of the rattlesnakes too. Even in the '50's, they would hunt and kill feral dog packs.

Now? Thank you bleeding hearts, I need bear-proof food storage cans hung in trees and all sorts of precautions and sometimes the rangers will say "Just don't go there because..."

Conservation, yes. And that means conserving my one favorite apex predator, because there's the apex predator, and everything else is snack food.

You say SHARK. I say GRENADE.

Works for gators, bears, wolves...all manor of conservation projects. I'm not intending to go seek them out and exterminate them, but if they're in my back yard...TFB. Conservation.

[tp12]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Fundamental diff between sharks and crocs.... sharks can't chase me down the street....

To be fair, they're an ambush predator. They're quick on land, but only over a short distance. The bigger ones especially.

So they're not really going to chase you down a street I don't think. I'm no expert though. Get some height, stand on a car or climb a tree. If you're in town I'm sure people will notice [emoji51]

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by tp12

To be fair, they're an ambush predator. They're quick on land, but only over a short distance. The bigger ones especially.

So they're not really going to chase you down a street I don't think. I'm no expert though. Get some height, stand on a car or climb a tree. If you're in town I'm sure people will notice [emoji51]

I guess that the cow seen being dragged into the Mary river couldn't find a car to stand on... and they are sometimes scarce out in the woop woop.

Really, I don't see why civilized folks should not discourage such critters from attacking them. Their population is burgeoning up in the NT, and they are not in danger as a species just now.

Jim

[tp12]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I guess that the cow seen being dragged into the Mary river couldn't find a car to stand on... and they are sometimes scarce out in the woop woop.



Really, I don't see why civilized folks should not discourage such critters from attacking them. Their population is burgeoning up in the NT, and they are not in danger as a species just now.



Jim

The cow was just unlucky. In any case, I'm not professing to be the croc avoidance expert.

Regarding discouraging them from attacking, I'm not sure anyone is advocating that. I'm certainly not. There's plenty of advice out there on avoidance and not making yourself easy to predict etc. They're patient and crafty. Sharks don't like to eat us and under normal circumstances just avoid us. Crocs will actively observe you, watch for patterns over days and plan an ambush and have a nice log ready to jam you under in a makeshift meat locker. I love 'straya.

They're still a protected species so what I would like to see is the population data etc....I'm repeating myself but there are people who are responsible for these things and they're likely to have considered a lot of options and are maybe constrained by things we don't know. I'm not saying that they're necessarily right, I'm just saying understanding the existing situation needs to happen before any meaningful, evidence based response can be formulated. And that may include some population control measures, who knows.

[LongRange]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

So how about Sydney funnelweb spiders? Native to the area, but if you lived there would you be happy to share your home with them?

I do live in Sydney. There are half a dozen redbacks literally less than a metre from my front door, and I relocate at least a couple from inside the house every year. It's a bushy suburb, but I have not seen more than a handful of funnelwebs over the years.

Animals have their natural habitats, and attempts to "manage" them almost always end in some kind of ecological mess. They don't need management - they just need to be left alone to let nature do its thing.

In 20 to 50 years from now it is likely that all fauna bigger than a household cat will be at least threatened if not extinct. Even on an economic level it seems pointless to speed up that process by culling animals within their natural habitat. Tourists are money, and tourists will pay to see an ecosystem which is sufficiently healthy to support a croc.