Of Great Big Bitey Things

[longqi]

I had to fly back to Darwin to sort a few things out
allowed 4 days but they only took a few hours

So borrowed a cruiser and picked up my tinny from storage
Headed over to East Alligator
Couple of days of great fishing right down to and past the mouth
Used to be full of smaller sharks
Hardly saw one this time

In about 30 years fishing the top end run offs Ive had 4 fish taken by crocs
usually when using light line and the fish is stuffed
This one trip that happened 5 times in totally different areas

BIG salties just lying on the bank and couldnt care less about me passing
4.5metre croc is about 50 years old so these guys were alive at the end of commercial hunting
Now they simply have no fear
Saw 5 definitely in the 4.5 to 5m range
Saw another 12/15 in the 3.5 to 4.5 range
about 1 hundred smaller ones
Usually one big croc rules an area and no other crocs are to be seen
Not any more

I realise that is in an area without too many people
I understand that crocs should be safe in places

But these big ones can and will travel huge distances
All the locals are basically scared stiff
Fishermen are buying bigger boats
Two fatal attacks I know of in last few months and I am way out of the picture regarding those now

Simple question
Can we afford to let them continue to increase in numbers they way they are doing now??

 

[Avery4]

As one who lives in and loves the Top End, it's becoming increasingly noticeable. They've just pulled anothery (only 1.5m though) from the drains next to the Leanyer water park. I think Berry Springs is still closed 'cause they pulled one just a bit upstream, Manton dam may still be closed. Lesser known parts of Kakadu I wouldn't trust anymore. And after seeing the size of the one they pulled from the Katherine river the other day, I'm not sure I'll be taking the kids for a swim in the gorge anytime soon.

They certainly have their place (our tourism industry in part depends on it) and I am not in favour of unrestricted culling, but they're crowding each other out so that they are increasingly moving into more populated areas. And becoming bolder. Just ask the poor fella who got hit sleeping in his boat. He was lucky to escape with his life.

I think it's time the Federal pollies stopped their Canberra office nonsense and see that this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for the Territory.

 

[sookie]

A controlled cull is that what you're thinking.before the crocs start starving and hunting further and further towards population?i agree that the crocs should have their place in nature but watching numbers growing out of control is dangerous.

 

[longqi]

In the light of recent events thought it may be appropriate to open this one again

 

[Stevo2]

How about we modify OUR behaviour to allow them to live as they have for generations?

 

[treeofgreen]

Its their home... id say learn to manage or move? Or we could just keep on killing stuff that inconveniences us....

 

[Stuart]

Each to their own and personally I see this topic getting out of hand but in my honest opinion, humans are an apex predator as are crocs. The only difference is that they don't organize events to lower our numbers because they feel threatened and possibly we should offer then the same courtesy.

In saying that though, lets continue to control the "problem" crocs rather than leaving them to create more havoc.

Just my 2c

 

[sharky]

It was their home before we came.
I say let them live and leave them be. If we start killing them off it will become one big hunting game for poachers and 'hunters'.
I don't want to see another gorgeous creature become endangered or extinct because of the human race.

that's just my opinion though, I'm a bit of a hippie haha

 

[Gonemad]

We cull other Animals why not under STRICT rules!
My husband was professional roo shooter and pig hunter and his aim was to cull older males in order to allow younger male the chance of breeding and survival he didn't shoot any females nor undersized and we supplied human consumption. This allows fed for other animals. The poachers are out there and no shooting certificate which means pot shots and cruelty. If a controlled licence, kill and quoter and size rules need to applied. (We have a very nice stag deer here and poachers have had him line up a couple of time but they have had there spot light shot out of their ute and another had his ute sprayed with bullets). Poachers have a bigger game to prove! Starvation isn't the answer! Would we let our snakes die because our freezer is empty? No we just buy more where can crocs purchase? And I agree that animals need to be protected but when numbers in crease then there survival rate decreases so rules and regulations are needed.

 

[RedFox]

I agree with gone mad. If done properly it can ensure that the food chain is maintained. If croc numbers keep increasing the way they have in the last few years there is the problem of there being too many apex predators and not enough prey/ lower predatory animals. Culling the older males humanely is a lot better than forcing then to travel and starve.

 

[treeofgreen]

I agree with gone mad. If done properly it can ensure that the food chain is maintained. If croc numbers keep increasing the way they have in the last few years there is the problem of there being too many apex predators and not enough prey/ lower predatory animals. Culling the older males humanely is a lot better than forcing then to travel and starve.

then they will die off or disperse naturally... like they would if we hadnt decided to take up residence in their own home. Pretty sure the native australians lived beside them for alot longer than we have been here

 

[thomasssss]

We cull other Animals why not under STRICT rules!
My husband was professional roo shooter and pig hunter and his aim was to cull older males in order to allow younger male the chance of breeding and survival he didn't shoot any females nor undersized and we supplied human consumption. This allows fed for other animals. The poachers are out there and no shooting certificate which means pot shots and cruelty. If a controlled licence, kill and quoter and size rules need to applied. (We have a very nice stag deer here and poachers have had him line up a couple of time but they have had there spot light shot out of their ute and another had his ute sprayed with bullets). Poachers have a bigger game to prove! Starvation isn't the answer! Would we let our snakes die because our freezer is empty? No we just buy more where can crocs purchase? And I agree that animals need to be protected but when numbers in crease then there survival rate decreases so rules and regulations are needed.

one of the most sensible posts in this thread so far , i agree totally , its not like where talking about a free for all hunt it would be controlled the people doing it would know what there doing and wouldn't cause devastation to the wild population just a slight reduction in numbers

 

[RedFox]

then they will die off or disperse naturally... like they would if we hadnt decided to take up residence in their own home. Pretty sure the native australians lived beside them for alot longer than we have been here

Yes except that we are also depleting the prey animals (fish) hence between us and the crocs there are too many apex predators. Unfortunately we can't cull people (although some deserve it) and there is no way people will stop fishing. If we left them like I said they would have to travel or starve. I do not agree with killing animals because we feel threatened. Crocs, sharks, etc should not be killed because we ventured into their habitat and came off second best.

 

[treeofgreen]

Yes except that we are also depleting the prey animals (fish) hence between us and the crocs there are too many apex predators. Unfortunately we can't cull people (although some deserve it) and there is no way people will stop fishing. If we left them like I said they would have to travel or starve. I do not agree with killing animals because we feel threatened. Crocs, sharks, etc should not be killed because we ventured into their habitat and came off second best.

so because we moved in on them + stole their food we shud still kill them? its just getting worse! We are NOT apex predators, we do not need to kill to eat. maybe when we were cavemen we actually had to hunt as we didnt have agriculture. Our poorly managed agriculure has also destroyed many environments. Just so much wastage from humans.

heard this great quote somewhere: If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within fifty years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within fifty years all forms of life would flourish.

- - - Updated - - -

We are the problem, so its up to us to pull our finger out and manage ourselves. The animal kingdom does not need our management.

 

[littlemay]

so because we moved in on them + stole their food we shud still kill them? its just getting worse! We are NOT apex predators, we do not need to kill to eat. maybe when we were cavemen we actually had to hunt as we didnt have agriculture. Our poorly managed agriculure has also destroyed many environments. Just so much wastage from humans.

heard this great quote somewhere: If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within fifty years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within fifty years all forms of life would flourish.

- - - Updated - - -

We are the problem, so its up to us to pull our finger out and manage ourselves. The animal kingdom does not need our management.

May i ask your ideas to deal with the issue?

 

[Stevo2]

Having never gone near a crocodile in the wild, nor put myself in a situation where one unseen could get to me, I'm rather proud to say that I've never been bitten or killed by a crocodile. Maybe there's something in that??

 

[SteveNT]

I meet them all the time in my work and in my liesure activities. They are stunning creatures and I have maximum respect for them. I have never been bitten or killed by one either.

Culling is already happening on pastoral leases and Indigenous land. Countrymen tell me they are seeing a lot of dead but uneaten 3 meteries in the Roper, Daly, Mary Rivers, etc. They are not tolerant of eachother. The population in existing habitat will self regulate, however the scary part is the populating of areas where they haven't been before (eg the fatality last week).

What this means is you need to treat all areas as you do the areas where you know salties are. Any concerns...stay out of the water. Spotlight check at night, check the banks for slides, etc.

But really, if you want to live here there are risks, there are 23 different things in the sea that can kill you. We love it here, we'll take the calculated risks and enjoy.

Enjoy your tv and cotton wool Steveo2.

 

[CaptainRatbag]

Brick them all!

Oh, wrong thread again :facepalm:

 

[Gonemad]

The native ancestors culled them in the beginning! Over time they just slid of the menu when alcohol, beef, lamb were imported living off the land means just that! They speared them then Ate them! croc, Roos, possum, snake, gonnas
So yes some of us live in croc areas, big picture we imported rabbits, beef, sheep so in my opinion we are the reason for over population of crocs due to other meat being available to eat so it is our problem. And as said the loss of the little girl that was her swimming hole as crocs weren't that far up! Closing our eyes to problems just makes us as bad as the problem it's self. Culls are calculated on numbers in area then sustainable feed source etc and allows these animals to remain in their water holes. the same as it's unfair of us to keep our snakes in a shoe box size enclosure and add another for company.

 

[CaptainRatbag]

You are ruining your image with such good info above ^ gonemad.... carefull :lol: