Video: Alligator attacks police car bumper - newslite.tv

5 May 2011

Video: Alligator attacks police car bumper

When police in Florida were called out to deal with an alligator wandering around a residential neighbourhood, it didn't take long to find the offending creature… it attacked their patrol car.

Officers say the 10ft gator promptly clamped his jaw down on the bumper of the patrol car and, as this video shows, refused to let go.

Eventually red-faced cops, who'd managed to dislodge the snappy creature by reversing the car, were forced to let him go and call in a licensed trapper.

Officers say the vehicle suffered some damage to the bumper and grill… but it was nothing compared to the damage caused to the officers pride at having to call for backup.

Get off my patch... and make it snappy! Astonishing moment an angry hippo came face to face with a grumpy croc - dailymail.co.uk

5 May 2011

After hours waiting beside an African river, Arnaud Germain thought he finally had the

perfect shot of his favourite bird.

But as the wildlife photographer trained his lens on the colourful kingfisher, he got a rather different snap than he was expecting.

All of a sudden, a crocodile and a hippo burst from the tranquil waters straight in front of him, locking jaws in ferocious battle.

Arnaud desperately tried to refocus his camera on the river

monsters as they fought on the banks of the Shire River, in the Liwonde National Park, Malawi.

Beastly surprise: As the photographer trained his lens on the colourful bird as it drank at an African river, a crocodile and a hippo burst from the tranquil waters straight in front of him

As these incredible images show he captures the moment the crocodile and hippo clashed in a bloody tooth-on-tooth tussle.

At first it looks like the reptile has the upper hand as its head is almost as large of the hippos but the protective mum, defending a calf, soon prove

s too strong sending the scaly intruder packing, bloodied and bruised.

And the kingfisher seemed completely unphased by the commotion and stayed on its perch the whole time ready for its close up.

Jaws: The two river monsters tussled for a few minutes as the hippo tried to defend its calf

The remarkable sequence of events unfolded on Arnaud's 32nd and last trip to the park and made for a event he would never forget.

Arnaud, 37, who has now moved to Nuneaton, Warks, said the momentous day started like any other morning with no hint of the drama to come.

He said: 'After six years in Malawi and 32 trips to Liwonde National Park, I was on my last game drive.

'It was a beautiful morning of June, the air was cold and crisp, and McLoud Kaliati (my guide and friend) and I were alone in the car.

'So far, we had had a very good drive: we had spotted a big herd of sable antelopes, the spoor of a young male rhino that had recently escaped from the breeding sanctuary and more amazingly, a herd of bushpigs eating the remains of a nine-foot long python.

'As we left the mopane woodland, we entered the floodplain by the Shire River. It is a very good spot for different antelopes and some days, elephants.

'It also attracts a lot of different birds - the bird list for the park is over 300 species - my favourite family of birds is the kingfisher and on a good boat ride along the river, I had managed to see five different species several times.

'McLoud parked the car close to the waterC'b,b's edge as there was a malachite kingfisher in the reeds about 15 feet from us.

'To make the picture more interesting, there was a female hippo in the background. I started shooting with my 500mm lens and realised that there was a tiny baby hippo with the female.

'After five very peaceful minutes and as I was still composing shots with the kingfisher and the hippos when all hell broke loose.

'A huge crocodile - probably over 12 foot - lunged at the hippo baby but maternal instincts are very strong in the animal kingdom and mother hippos are no exception.

'She turned very fast for such a bulky animal and met the crocodile head on.

'When I realised what happened, I turned the camera as quickly as possible and refocused to take the fight.

'The crocodile clamped his jaws on the bottom jaw of the mother instead of the delicious baby, it let go and tried lunging again only to be met by the angry mum again.

Worth the wait: The remarkable sequence of events unfolded on Arnaud's 32nd and last trip to the park and made for a event he would never forget

'They squared off, jaws agape a few more times before the crocodile realised that, having lost the element of surprise, there was no way he could get pass the mother hippo to eat the baby.

'It just swam away after a 45 seconds fight he was never going to win, with such a big and powerful mum, baby hippos donC'b,b't have much to fear.

'In 13 years of guiding, it was the first time Mcleod had seen a crocodile squaring up to an adult hippo. As for me, it was the perfect way to end a truly unforgettable last weekend in Liwonde.' Arnaud is now looking for a publisher to help him make a book about his amazing photographs and experiences in Africa. Liwonde National Park lies in the South of Malawi, a small country in Southern Africa.

The Park, which has an area of just over 200 miles square, allows tourists to see different species of antelopes, large herds of elephants and more than 300 bird species.

The Shire River is the most important feature of the park and boasts large concentrations of both hippos and crocodiles.

Newquay's aquarium invites visitors to name miniature crocodiles - thisiscornwall.co.uk

5 May 2011

Visitors to the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay will have the chance to name their newest arrivals – a pair of miniature crocodiles.

The Cuvier’s dwarf caimans arrived at the award-winning aquarium last month from London Zoo as part of a brand new Amazon-themed freshwater feature.

The crocodiles, a male and a female, had to be transported in specially-designed containers which protected keepers from their fearsome jaws.

According to their keepers at London Zoo, the pair has already shown signs of mating so aquarists have created a suitable habitat to allow them to breed in the future.

“Ideally we’d like the name to reflect the fact that the caimans are a pair and that they are the smallest members of the crocodile family,” said Blue Reef’s Christine Comery.

“There have already been a few suggestions from team members but we’re hoping our visitors will provide us with some better alternatives,” she added.

The Cuvier’s dwarf caiman is the smallest surviving member of the crocodilian family found in the Americas. Fully grown adult males reach up to 1.6 metres in length.

The ‘name the caimans’ competition will be running until the end of May and visitors will be able to post their entries into a special ‘crocbox’ alongside the aquarium’s new display.

A team of judges from the aquarium’s zoological team will choose a winner and, as well as having the honour of naming their very own crocodiles, they will also win a year’s family pass to the aquarium.

‘Mini-Crocs’ recreates the South American miniature crocodiles’ flooded forest habitat and includes a central island decorated with real trees donated from a local farmer and the National Trust and living plants donated by the Eden Project.​

Monster croc pulled from NT trap - abc.net.au

4 May 2011

Rangers are warning people to remain vigilant around Top End waterways after a huge saltwater crocodile was pulled from a trap near Katherine.

The 4.6-metre reptile is the largest of the 116 crocodiles caught by wildlife officers in the Northern Territory this year.

The monster croc was pulled out of a trap in the Katherine River, about 10 kilometres from the town of Katherine.

Ranger Joey Buckerfield says the crocodile was so heavy it took unusual measures to get him out of the trap.

"There were about six of us on the rope and we could not pull him out," he said.

"We ended up having to winch him out with the Toyota.

"A couple of times before we have had to winch them out or just pull them up steep embankments.

"This time he was just genuinely heavy - by our estimates between 600 kilograms and 700 kilograms."

Mr Buckerfield says a 3.4m saltwater crocodile was also caught about one kilometres downstream from the popular Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park.

"Even though the wet season has finished and the dry season is here, crocodiles still inhabit waterways and all the remnant waterholes of the river systems," he said.

"Anywhere you go where you are likely to encounter crocodiles, whether it be fishing, boating or camping, we just ask the public to be croc-wise."

Meanwhile, police have downgraded a search for a fisherman missing from Elcho Island, who they suspect may have fallen victim to a crocodile.

Police fear croc took missing fisherman - abc.net.au

4 May 2011

Northern Territory Police have suspended their search for a 54-year-old fisherman who has been missing on Elcho Island for three days.

Police say the man went fishing at the same spot he does every day on Mission Beach near Galiwinku on Sunday morning and has not been seen since.

Emergency services officers and community members had searched the area for three days, using helicopters and boats as well as on foot.

Yesterday, some of the man's personal items, including clothing, a wallet and fishing gear were found.

Police believe he has fallen victim to a crocodile, a shark or stingers.

The man's family said he would often wade out into the water when fishing.

Three crocodiles have been seen in the area in the last few days.

One was shot but no human remains were found inside it.

Earlier today, police downgraded their search for the man.

Senior Sergeant Brendan Muldoon says helicopters were pulled out of the operation but the search of the Mission Beach area continued until mid-afternoon when the search was finally suspended.

Northern Watch Commander Tony Deutrom says the missing man's family is coming to terms with the fact he may be dead.