Croc attack in Darwin

Crocs have survived longer than humans or any other animal and in my opinion don't need more protection than they already have. And yes it seems they a higher priority than human life, off course we all know this would be reversed if the child in question was the daughter or son of a politician.

Whilst I don't have numbers on Crocs in Australia at the moment they are growing and moving further out to stake territorys so that is dangerous. Perhaps their food chain is dwindling which is also dangerous.?

Time for a controlled cull IMO.

Perhaps culling some of the bigger ones is the answer.?

More croc attacks imminent
By Andrew Collins

Friday, 13/03/2009

The Manager of a crocodile cruise on the Adelaide River says the number of crocodile attacks in the Northern Territory will rise becuase there's a larger number of big crocs.

Peter Saltmarsh is calling for more education about crocodiles, and says that signs are not enough.

He says crocodiles are getting bigger, and attacks are more likely to be fatal.

Crocodiles don't readily attack things that are bigger than they are, and they grow incredibly slowly.

Crocodiles grow at about the same rates or speed as we do.

Now they are on average as big as we are, and now things are starting to change.

In this report: Peter Saltmarsh, crocodile tour guide.

I have not seen the interview and don't condone the attitude described, but it is possible that it is influenced by the regular ignoring by many people of the basic precautions that should be taken in known croc country.
There are plenty of warning signs.
These are serious critters and need to be taken seriously.
We regularly see people swim in croc territory. They say "we will be OK....just a quick dip... .....we keep a good watch out..... ...it's clear and we can see ...... etc etc
Perhaps it is no wonder that some people might lack an 'appropriate' respose when the inevitable happens?

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Whilst loss of human life is unfortunate if we are dumb enough to enter their territory then we must live with the consequences.

The crocs are not coming out and actively hunting us. Stupid humans are offering them an easy meal - and then bitching because the crocs accepted the offer.

"I will need to be aware that the wild animals have a higher priority than human life" Honky that's a fairly lame comment. You are attributing what one person said/inferred to the general population of the NT - unjust and unfair.

I suggest that anyone who follows common sense will be perfectly safe in croc country.

Cheers from the Moose

Shoot the pollies ( they are bloody useless at the best of times ! ) and cull the over abundance of crocs - simple

Hi All

It wasn't clear if the young girl and her friends were visitors to the area, the mother was complaining of not having warning signs ect, I am not familiar with that area myself, but we are very cautious about any water holes and streams ect up north, maybe I'm a bit old fashioned but who was keeping an eye on the kids? it's easy to lay blame on what ever but the buck stops with the parents or minders, I realize crocs can be any where up there but I allways thought you only swim where it is a croc free area, maybe some of the locals could fill in the blanks.

Cheers
Daza

Croc shooting stopped in the late 70's(I think 1978), when we travelled extensively through the top end from the Kimberleys to Cape York through the 80's and early 90's it was rare to see crocs in the wild and those you did see were relatively small and also very wary of humans.
Roll on to the present, 30 years on from when hunting stopped those little crocs are now getting pretty big, have been breeding freely, have no fear of man, because they are territorial, are moving back into areas where they haven't been seen in many peoples memories.
Add to that the increasing human population, increased travel of people from southern states to both live and holiday in croc territory and there has to be increased interaction between the two.
Anyone who travelled to Wyndham in the early 80's when the meatworks was operating and visited the offal drain received a very good idea of what would happen if you ventured into the water anywhere, if the crocs didn't get you the sharks would.
I'm with the crocs, it is their environment and us humans had better watch out.
Compared to the numbers we kill on the roads the number lost to crocs is minimal.

Honky,
I think I also the same interview, however I have a vastly different view.

I understand the 11yo was swimming in a creek, her mum thought it was 'ok' because there are no signs there saying otherwise.

I thought to myself, so every few hundred meters there will have to be signs along the South Adelaide and Adelaide rivers, the Mary River and hundreds of similar rivers up in the NT where the Crocodiles have lived thousands of years.

I'm sorry the woman lost a daughter, but if she was looking after her daughter, she would have made sure her daughter was not swimming in the same creek as crocodiles COULD probably be in.
Makes me wonder how she ascertained there were NO crocodiles in the creek ??

I've been there, I loved Darwin, the countryside and also the people there, such a different lifestyle to when I 'lived' in Melbourne.

Yes, as you say, you do have to watch out for the "wild animals" most of which live in the big cities, they drive expensive cars and they use guns and knives to attack fellow humans, just for the price of a packet of smokes.

Crocodiles have killed far less numbers of people, and I believe those people would have been doing some stupid things like swimming in creeks where the crocodile lived, thinking they were invincible - or maybe not even thinking at all?
As I say that is just my thought on the matter

Mainey . . .

I've said in the past that once I've crossed 'Capricorn' I even become wary of puddles . However, I think I'll start my vigil further South, at the NSW/Qld. border maybe.

1st up Honky, I can't believe you admit to watching A Current Affair. Sheesh haven't you got something better to do? LOL Get a hobby!

The "waters" have become so muddied on this story it is now unfair to try and apportion blame or form an opinion on anything but the facts. If you weren't there and you didn't know the family you have no idea what happened or what they beleived.

For instance I saw the mother interviewed the day after and she said then very clearly that she had told her daughter to never swim there. Now, what is it?, a month later and other media reports are stating the opposite. Who do you believe? Whomever appeals to your bias - so stick to the facts.

Fact 1. V.young naive girl got taken by croc.
Fact 2. It was not a safe swimming spot.
Fact 3 Territorians are a diverse group of people who can't and won't be generalised. Much like any other Australian.

If you're concerned about the attitudes of Territorians I suggest you don't tell us you watch A Current Affair because a lot of people who watch that show are prone to artificial generalisations based on whatever bias the director of the show feels will appeal to the most people on any given day. I've seen the ads, one day they'll have "Tonight the terror of plastic surgery." and then the next day it's "Tonight the latest cosmetic improvement technique." Tomorrow it'll be let's have a go at 4wd'ers. So on that night it was what?

Mate go talk to your family, kick a footy, hell have a beer and stare at the evening sky or talk to a real person but don't form generalisations based on populist crap.

Hope to see you when you come up here, I'll take you swimming.







Oh yeah

Fact 4. I saw this on A Current Affair so it's really REALLY true "Territorians like to pull your leg but not as much as the croc's do!" ; )

Have a great trip you'll love it, there's too much to do to bother watching A Current Affair.