Crocodile attack

Crocodile attacks on people are common in places where large crocodiles are native and human populations live.

Only six of the 23 crocodilian species are considered dangerous to adult humans, and only individuals 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length or more represent a serious danger to humans, as smaller crocodiles are considered incapable of killing a person. The two species with the most well-known and documented reputation for preying on humans are the Nile crocodile and saltwater crocodile. Each year, hundreds of deadly attacks are attributed to the Nile crocodile in sub-Saharan Africa. On New Guinea, Borneo and the Solomon Islands attacks by saltwater crocodiles often occur. The mugger crocodile is also very dangerous to humans, killing many people in India every year. The American crocodile, while generally considered to be less aggressive, does occasionally kill humans and a handful of fatalities are reported and confirmed every year in Central America and southern Mexico. The black caiman is also responsible for several recorded human fatalities every year within the Amazon basin and the surrounding regions. The American alligator is responsible for human fatalities, with most occurring in Florida.

No species of crocodilian should ever be considered completely "harmless" as even the smallest species can inflict painful bites requiring stitches if harassed. In addition, a small child may be of a similar size to the prey of some of the crocodilian species incapable of preying on adult 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.

Some well-reported attacks

Saltwater crocodile

Many people have been killed by crocodiles throughout Southeast Asia and Australia. Since 1990, these include:

• 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.^[1] It was the biggest and oldest crocodile ever caught in the area.
• In January 2001, attacks were reported by mugger crocodiles on tribal population around the Neyyar reservoir in Kerala, India where muggers are periodically raised and released into the reservoir from the Neyyar crocodile centre.^[2] This rare display of aggression was found to be the isolated behaviour of an abnormal minority among the Neyyar muggers which are usually not known to attack humans.^[3]
• 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.^[4][5]
• Estimated to be around 20 feet (6.1 m) in length, and to weigh more than 2,000 pounds (910 kg) Gustave has been credited with killing a number of people at the Rusizi River. 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 a target of a warlord in the midst of an African civil war.
• On December 2003, Brett Mann, 22, was killed after wading into the Finniss River, 80 km from Darwin, Australia.^[5]
• In August 2005, a 60-year-old man was dragged underwater by a crocodile in northeastern Australia.^[5]
• 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.^[6][5] His body was recovered.
• February 2006. A 9-year-old girl was killed by a crocodile as she crossed a shallow river in the western Philippines.^[7]
• 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, and pulled Dr. Root underwater.
• In July 2006, an 8-year-old girl was killed by a 5-metre crocodile near the Northern Territory coastal community of Maningrida, Australia.^[5]
• In April 2007, a 9-year-old Chinese child was killed in a crocodile pool at the Silver Beach holiday resort in southwest Guangxi region.^[8]
• In September 2008, Vietnam veteran Arthur Booker, 62, was taken while checking crab pots at a holiday campsite on the Endeavour River near Cooktown in far north Queensland Australia.^[5]
• 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.^[9][5]
• In March 2009, an 11-year-old Briony Goodsell was killed by a saltwater crocodile in the Black Jungle Swamp in the outskirts of rural Darwin, Australia.^[5]
• In April 2009, a 20-year-old local man was taken by a crocodile while the man was swimming with his brother at night in the Daly River about 150 km south of Darwin, Australia.^[5]
• In April 2010, a 25-year-old woman from 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.^[10] Her boyfriend caught the attack on film; the camera was recovered two days later along with her remains.^[11]
• South African outdoorsman Hendrik Coetzee was presumed killed after being attacked by a crocodile on the morning of 7 December 2010. Coetzee was leading a kayaking expedition through Congo's Lukuga River at the time of the attack.^[12]
• A 21-foot (6.4-meter) saltwater crocodile, believed to be the biggest ever captured, has been trapped in the southern Philippines on 4 September 2011 after a spate of fatal attacks. The crocodile is suspected of eating a farmer who went missing in July in the town of Bunawan, and of killing a 12-year-old girl whose head was bitten off two years ago.^[13]

See also

• Diving hazards and precautions
• Battle of Ramree Island
• Man-eater

References

1. ^ Bujang Senang in Malay with picture.
2. ^ "People trap crocodile at Neyyar". hinduonnet.com. 2001-05-26. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/05/26/stories/0426404t.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
3. ^ "Killer crocodile abnormal". hindu.com. 2001-01-04. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2001/01/04/stories/0404404x.htm. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
4. ^ Wendy Lewis (2007). See Australia and Die. New Holland. ISBN 9781741105834. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Recent crocodile deaths in Australia. Smh.com.au (2009-04-11). Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
6. ^ Snorkel Brit Is Killed By Croc. mirror.co.uk (2005-09-27). Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
7. ^ Croc leaves only girl's head: World: News: News24. Replay.waybackmachine.org. Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
8. ^ Croc kills kid at holiday park: News24: World: News. News24 (2007-04-22). Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
9. ^ Boy's body found in crocodile BBC News, 18 February 2009.
10. ^ Crocodile Kills NJ Woman Lauren Failla Snorkeling in Indian Ocean. Aolnews.com (2010-05-07). Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
11. ^ Lauren Failla DEAD: Vanderbilt Alum Killed By Crocodile 4 Years After Sister Dies In Climbing Accident. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-19.
12. ^ "River guide believed killed by crocodile in Congo". CNN. December 9, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/12/09/kayaker.crocodile/. Retrieved 8 December 2010. 
13. ^ Philippines catches 'largest crocodile on record' ABS-CBNNews.com Retrieved on 2011-09-13.

Further reading

• 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)

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) http://newsfromrussia.com/accidents/2005/09/27/63771.html
• The Mirror, "Snorkel Brit is Killed by Croc"