Crocodile attack

Crocodile attacks on people are common in places where crocodiles are native. The Saltwater and Nile Crocodiles are responsible for more attacks and more deaths than any other wild predator that attacks humans for food.

Each year, hundreds of deadly attacks are attributed to the Nile Crocodile within sub-Saharan Africa. The island of New Guinea also reports numerous attacks attributed to the Saltwater Crocodile every year and is probably the only country within the species range where attacks are relatively frequent, as the population of this species is very low within the vast majority of its Asian range. Attacks in places like Australia (which contains the highest population of Saltwater Crocodiles) are comparatively rare, with usually only 1 or 2 fatalities recorded per year. This is because Australians, unlike Africans and the people of New Guinea, do not rely as directly on the rivers and other waterways within the region for survival. In Africa the most common victims appear to be fishermen (who use small boats and regularly enter the water) and children who play in or near the water's edge.

Species

Only seven of the 23 crocodilian species are considered dangerous to humans, and even fewer still are proven man-eaters. Even amongst the seven dangerous species, only individuals 3 meters in length or more represent a serious danger to humans, as smaller crocodiles are not only considered incapable of killing a person but will usually flee at the sight of people as well. The two species with the most well-known and documented reputation for attacking humans are the Nile Crocodile and Saltwater Crocodile. The American Crocodile, while generally considered to be less aggressive, can occasionally devour humans and a handful of fatalities are reported and confirmed every year within Central America and southern Mexico. Both the Black Caiman and Orinoco Crocodile of South America are very large and are said to be very dangerous, however populations of both species are critically low and no attacks have ever been verified. The American Alligator has in recent years been responsible for a relatively large number of attacks on humans within Florida (many of them fatal), but this species in general is not considered aggressive and the recent surge in attacks has been attributed to the fact that not only is Florida home to over a million Alligators but that people frequently swim in the animal's territory. Problems can also occur, in Florida and elsewhere in the alligator's current range, when people feed them on a regular basis and individual alligators come to view humans as providers of food; an alligator that is no longer afraid of humans may not understand that dogs, cats, and small children are not permissible as food items. The Mugger Crocodile is considered to be occasionally dangerous and one fatal attack on a child was confirmed within the coastal marshes of Iran. All other crocodilian species (all Gavials, virtually all Caimans, and most Crocodiles) can give serious injury if harassed, but are considered incapable of man-eating behavior and will usually flee at the sight of humans.

Background

An accurate count of annual crocodile attacks on humans is difficult to obtain. Many of the areas in which humans and large crocodiles come into contact are remote, impoverished, or in areas of political unrest. Thus, crocodile attacks are not always reported to local authorities, and some reports are difficult to verify. However some information does exist; for example, it was reported by the Campfire project in Zimbabwe that in the first ten months of the year in 2005 Crocodiles were the number one cause of death in humans where wildlife was involved - with the number of deaths cited as 13.

The most deaths in a single crocodile attack incident may have occurred during the Battle of Ramree Island, on February 19, 1945, in what is now Burma. Nine hundred soldiers of an Imperial Japanese Army unit, in an attempt to retreat from the Royal Navy and rejoin a larger battalion of the Japanese infantry, crossed through ten miles of mangrove swamps that contained Saltwater Crocodiles. Twenty Japanese soldiers were captured alive by the British, and almost five hundred are known to have escaped Ramree. Many of the remainder may have been eaten by the crocodiles, although since this incident took place during an active military conflict, it is impossible to know how many deaths can be directly attributed to the crocodiles instead of to combat-related causes.

Precautions and information

• Just because crocodiles are not visibly present does not mean that an area is safe to swim. In fact, crocodiles that view humans as prey usually hide at the first sign of humans (i.e. a car parking or footsteps.)
• A 6-meter-long crocodile can lie completely invisible in less than a foot of muddy water.
• Large crocodiles have the strongest biting force of any animal alive- exceeding 5000 psi.
• Most attacks by large crocodiles are over within a few seconds or less.
• Most human victims succumb to drowning long before dismemberment and consumption take place.
• Crocodiles become more aggressive during the mating season.
• Crocodiles can move very quickly over short distances on land.
• Crocodiles won't hunt their prey on land over a distance longer than a couple of feet. They don't have a high stamina and don't want to waste energy. If you can escape their first strike and run a couple of meters, you are usually safe.
• Crocodiles are adept at learning and memorizing routines, such as the location of nearby campers or the routes of travelers.
• In water, crocodiles tend to drag their prey under and drown them.
• Crocodiles can slow their metabolism to such an extent that a tree with an intruder hiding in its branches may be guarded continuously for several weeks, without breaks for food.
• Crocodiles have strong muscles for closing their jaws and holding them shut, but weak muscles for opening them.
• There is a sensitive flap in a crocodile's throat, known as the glottis, which they use for breathing. As a result, as with some other predators, forcing the arm into the throat may encourage release, although this is not certain by any means and may instead lead to the arm being severed.
• Sometimes, an attacking crocodile will bite, hold on, and then rapidly spin its body to weaken its prey or tear off limbs (the "death roll").
• When crocodiles see prey, they will duck under the water and when they reach their target, jump out and bite.
• When a crocodile is near a large pile of leaves and sticks it is usually a female in mating season and very vicious.
• Crocodiles are murderous killing machines and preferentially devour Persians.

Some well-reported attacks

Saltwater Crocodile

Since 1990, many people have been killed by crocodiles throughout Southeast Asia and Australia.

• In February 1982, an Iban village headman.
• On May 22, 1992, an Iban girl, Dayang anak Bayang was killed by Bujang Senang at Pelaban River, another tributary of the great Batang Lupar River near Lingga in Sri Aman Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The killer crocodile was shot to death by several police sharpshooters and Iban hunters after a four-hour ordeal. It was the biggest and oldest crocodile ever caught in the area.
• In April 2002, 35-year-old British musician Richard Shadwell was killed by a crocodile in Borneo.
• In October 2002, 23-year-old German student Isabel von Jordan was killed by a saltwater crocodile in Kakadu National Park, Australia while taking a dip in the billabong with her sister and a few other backpackers.
• Another relatively famous, or infamous, crocodile hails from the Rusizi River and has been named Gustave. Estimated to exceed 6 meters (20 feet) in length, and to weigh in excess of 1 ton (2,000 lbs, or 900 kg) Gustave has been credited with killing some 300 people, though this is most likely an exaggeration. Numerous capture attempts have been made, including using a massive bear trap in 2002, however Gustave has managed to evade capture. Gustave is the basis of the film Primeval (originally titled "Gustave"), which follows a news team sent to Burundi to capture Gustave; while doing so they become the target of a warlord in the midst of an African civil war.
• In August 2005, a 60-year-old man was dragged underwater by a crocodile in northeastern Australia.
• In September 2005, Russell Harris, a 37-year-old British engineer, was killed by a large saltwater crocodile while snorkeling off Picnic Beach in Australia [1]. His body was recovered.
• Croc leaves only girl's head. February 2006. A nine-year-old girl was killed by a crocodile as she crossed a shallow river in the western Philippines.
• On March 19, 2006, University of Washington medical professor Richard Root, age 68, who had moved to alleviate a shortage of physicians, was killed on a wildlife tour of the Limpopo River when a crocodile emerged from the river, grabbed Dr. Root, and pulled him under.
• On March, 2008, a 7-year-old boy killed by crocodile attack from the river in the town of Rizal, Palawan, in the Philippines.
• Huge crocodile kills 10-year-old in Philippines March 2009. The croc damaged the boat and the girl, member of a Manobo tribe, fell into the water, the official statement said, while a companion managed to swim to safety. The girl's headless torso was recovered.
• On February 8, 2009, 5-year-old Jeremy Doble was attacked by a crocodile in far north Queensland Daintree River, Australia. Police confirmed that human remains found in a saltwater crocodile caught nearby were those of the boy.
• In March 2009 11-year-old Briony Goodsell was killed by a saltwater crocodile in the Black Jungle Swamp in the outskirts of rural Darwin, Australia.
• In April 2010, Lauren Failla (age 25) of New Jersey was killed by a saltwater crocodile while snorkeling in India's Andaman Islands. Havelock Island, where the attack took place, lies 45 miles from the Lohabarrack Salt Water Crocodile Sanctuary. Failla's boyfriend caught the attack on film; the camera was recovered two days later along with her remains.

See also

• Diving hazards and precautions
• Battle of Ramree Island
• Man-eater
• Crocodile attacks in Australia

References

• Edwards, Hugh Crocodile Attack/Dramatic True Stories of Fatal and Near-Fatal Encounters Between Humans and Crocodiles ISBN 0-06-016121-3 (1989)
• Fitzgerald, Patrick Croc and Gator Attacks ISBN 0-516-23514-1 (2000)
• Croc leaves only girl's head

External links

General

• Keller, Michelle "When crocodiles attack!" Stanford University Daily (Nov. 19, 2003)
• BBC, "Uganda culls man-eating crocs", 25 (March 25, 2002)

Specific attacks

• MSNBC: Boy killed in crocodile attack in Mexico
• Divester "Croc Kills Scuba Diver" (September 29, 2005) [2]
• The Mirror, "Snorkel Brit is Killed by Croc"