I thought last week’s NT News article – “To cull or not to cull our beloved
Territory icon?” – was a balanced and comprehensive coverage.
It followed the attack by a 2.5m crocodile on a tourist in Wangi Falls, and
led to the Chief Minister’s call for a croc-culling debate.
So, in that regard, here’s my two bobs’ worth.
Firstly, can we please ease up on the hype about crocodiles and manage
these incredibly-important members of our fragile Top End animal ecology
in the responsible manner that we should?
After all, we are talking about one of the most amazing creatures on the
planet – an animal that has been around since the dinosaurs.
Do people realise that a 5 metre-plus crocodile is close to a 100 years old?
Sure it’s a man eater; it’ll eat anything it can get its jaws around quicker
than I can land a barramundi.
But it doesn’t rate as a man killer compared to drunks killing people on the
roads.
It doesn’t rate as a man killer compared to ultra-light planes killing people
in the air.
It doesn’t rate as a man killer compared to people drowning in swimming
holes.
It doesn’t even rate as a man killer compared to people who choke on a
piece of food.
Yet here we are, the biggest killers of all – humans – considering
widespread culling of a magnificent big old animal that survives by
predating on other animals in the water.
In Africa, lions kill and eat dozens of humans every year, but do you reckon
anyone is calling for their culling… no way.
In India, tigers kill and eat dozens of humans every year, but where’s the
call to get rid of these priceless mammals?
In North America, three to six people are killed every year by brown and
black bears, but culling was howled down 50 years ago.
Give me a break… these are bloody reptiles we’re talking about; they’ve got
the brain of a walnut. Surely we can outsmart them without having to wipe
out populations.
In Uganda, along the Nile River, more than 150 villagers are taken by crocs
every year.
Rangers there don’t even shoot the culprits: they catch and relocate them
to where they have no access to nearby villages.
Any talk about removing the big ones is an insult to our ability to manage
wildlife… these are the prime breeding, ecologically-successful specimens,
and they’re all really old.
Let’s not go down the path of knee-jerk reactions.
Crocodiles are dumb; humans are supposed to be smart.
These incredible creatures, particularly the big old ones, are viewed in awe
by tourists.
Most anglers also love to see them and love to show them off to
interstaters.
This is not a hard one to get right… just ignore the hype and the vested
interests.
We’re told we should be allowed to shoot the big old crocs – those 80-year-
old, still-surviving saurians – because they knock off the odd bovine.
Much as I am supportive of our cattle industry, it’s a fact that the
widespread clearing of native flora for cattle grazing, the planting of exotic
grasses for feed, and the blocking of natural waterways to create ponded
pastures have had a devastating impact on the natural food chain.
Large-scale loss of native animal and bird habitat, siltation into our rivers
and monumental fish kills can all be blamed on the cattle industry, and the
loss of the odd cow to a crocodile hardly compensates.
No one would argue that an identified man eater should be shot or trapped
and relocated if it can be found.
But let’s focus on educational management, and on maximising the ongoing
monumental tourism appeal of our native big crocodiles in the wild.
This monster Daly River crocodile is close to 100 years old, a prime
example of an ecologically-successful specimen, one with huge
tourism appeal.
Dusty Christophers, 8, and his brother Cruize, 9, with a terrific tricky
snapper caught during last weekend’s calm spell.
Ayla Christophers, 12, with her tricky snapper caught wide of
Dundee.
