Friday, 25 November 2011

Rwanda: Man Feared Killed By Crocodile - allafrica.com

25 November 2011


Fishermen in Rilima Sector, Bugesera District, yesterday morning, found the body of a man on the banks of Lake Kidogo. It is believed the unidentified man was the victim of a crocodile attack.

Jean Damascene Nyandwi, a fisherman who first saw the remains, told The New Times that he was on his routine work when he bumped into the body.

"There is no doubt that this person was mauled by crocodiles. There are signs that he was trapped some days ago," Nyandwi narrated.


The fisherman added that this is the second time such an incident had taken place in recent times.


"Crocodiles have not been a threat on this lake like it is on Lakes Rumira and Gashanga. It is scary because this may be the beginning of ugly incidents," he said.


The body was mutilated beyond recognition. Some residents, however, said that reports from neighbouring Gashora Sector indicated that a resident had gone missing.


Other residents said that fishing attracts people to the lake.


The Executive Secretary of the Sector, Gaspard Gasirabo, confirmed the incident and advised residents to be on the alert, warning that crocodiles from other lakes may be moving to Kidogo.


"This incident should serve as a warning to residents; otherwise we are most likely to experience many other cases."

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Crocodile Washes Up in Krasnodar - themoscowtimes.com

24 November 2011

Russia is not a place to meet crocodiles in the wild, but this week, one specimen was fished out of the Kuban River in the southern Krasnodar region — dead.


The reptile was discovered by employees of a local rowing club who were cleaning up after a race, Interfax reported Tuesday, citing a club representative.


The 1.2-meter-long crocodile was apparently dead for some time because its hide was "damaged by rats," the representative was cited as saying.


The animal is apparently the same that was spotted by rowers in Kuban back in August. A hunt was launched at the time, but produced no results.


The cause of the croc's death remains unclear. Krasnodar Mayor Yevgeny Yevlanov called in August to capture it alive, name it and hand it over to a local zoo.


No explanation was offered for why the crocodile appeared in Krasnodar.

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

73 croc attacks on humans in last two decades - theborneopost.com

23 November 2011


KUCHING: Seventy-three crocodile attacks on human beings have been recorded since 1990, 33 of them fatal, says Special Functions Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem.

“The increase in crocodile population has subsequently led to conflicts with humans, especially those depending on rivers for their livelihood and transportation,” Adenan said in his winding-up speech yesterday.

He said the government had taken proactive steps to resolve the issue by implementing educational and awareness programmes with the local communities, putting up crocodile warning signs at sites known to be infested with crocodiles and culling operation at rivers with high crocodile population.

“The capture and culling of crocodiles from their natural habitats are part and parcel of the wildlife management, yet these are often viewed negatively by certain groups of people,” he said.

Adenan said the recent International Crocodile Conference (ICC) in Kuching was organised to share and gather ideas on resolving the human-crocodile conflict.

Among the resolutions of the ICC are to come up with a standard and monitoring programme and to establish a comprehensive database; to determine the strategy to downgrade crocodile status from Convention on International Trade in Engendered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Appendix I to CITES Appendix II; to prepare sufficient allocation for long term management and monitoring crocodile population; to prepare safety guidelines for river users and to ensure that crocodile management plan would benefit local communities.

Monday, 21 November 2011

Alligator topples Angry Birds in quest for billion gamers - articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com


24 November 2011
PORTLAND: Where's My Water?," the new mobile game from Walt Disney, stars Swampy, an alligator who lives in an underground sewer.
The googly eyed reptile likes to lounge around in his subterranean bathtub while he scrubs his back with a brush. Players swipe their fingers across an Apple iPhone screen to guide water into his tub while dodging toxic sludge and collecting rubber duckies as prizes.
With the 99-cent application, also available for Apple's iPad tablet, the House of Mickey is attempting to do something it has never done before: spin a multimillion-dollar franchise out of a character that made his debut on a 3.5-inch screen.
So far the Swampy experiment is going swimmingly. Following its Sept. 22 release, "Where's My Water?" quickly jumped to the top of the Apple App Store's paid applications chart, displacing the record-setting "Angry Birds" game from the No. 1 spot for three weeks.
The logic behind Disney's new release is simple. A movie takes three to five years and hundreds of millions of dollars to make, and as with "Mars Needs Moms," Disney's big theatrical release this past spring, success is hardly guaranteed.
The cost of a mobile game runs in the hundreds of thousands. It took a crew of seven people seven-and-a-half months to produce "Where's My Water?" If Swampy becomes a hit with kids, a follow-up movie could have a ready base of fans eager to buy tickets.
"This is a very, very cost-effective way to develop characters," said Tim Nollen, an analyst at Macquarie Capital USA Inc. in New York. "It's a new way of doing things."
About 52% of kids 8 and younger have used a mobile device for games and other activities, according to a recent survey of 1,384 parents by Common Sense Media Inc.
A new generation of Disney fans "is growing up, and this is their main platform," said Bart Decrem, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Mobile, a 150-person unit. "My gut feeling is, over the next few years, someone will create a game with a billion gamers on it. We want to be that company."
Disney already has Swampy's career plotted out. A 12- episode animated series will air on Disney.com and on Google Inc. (GOOG)'s Youtube sometime in the first quarter of 2012, part of a deal that will have the two companies spend as much as $15 million on co-branded content.
A book and a movie featuring the cute green gator could follow, Decrem says.
(I love this game! - Jenn)


Senator wants Strand crocs culled - abc.net.au

21 November 2011


North Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald says authorities should cull crocodiles instead of capturing and relocating them to wildlife parks.
Three saltwater crocodiles have been spotted off Townsville's Strand so far this year.
Senator Macdonald says the reptiles are getting too close to popular Townsville swimming spots.
"The crocodile when it's caught should be taken down into the Brisbane River," he said.
"Something has to be done about the explosion of numbers of crocodiles in places that have been for years in the habitat of human beings.
"There will be a major tragedy some time in the Townsville region - it shouldn't happen."
State Environment Minister Vicky Darling has been contacted by the ABC for comment.

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Crocodile 'given bikini wax and pedicure' in bad PR stunt by spa - metro.co.uk

20 November 2011
Crocodile 'given bikini wax and pedicure' at Parap Day SpaBikini wax and pedicure: Louanne Grasmeder sees to the saltwater crocodile (Picture: Rex)


Business at the spa in Darwin, Australia, has clearly nose-dived judging by this exercise in bad taste.

Perhaps it’s the hair attached to the waxing strip that gives the game away or the fact that the poor creature is wearing a protective bikini bottom.    

Either way, it’s not clear how staff managed to persuade the saltwater crocodile to co-operate. 
But the bigger question has to be who on earth thought this was a good idea? 

The spa’s business manager Louanne Grasmeder said: ‘Breeding season is just around the corner. We want her to look her best for the breeding season.


‘In the wet season, the male crocodiles are fighting it out over breeding sites and female crocodiles will be extremely territorial.’ 

Then spa staff member Jamillah Allen apparently quipped: ‘The lengths we go for great training.’ 

Of course. How stupid of us. What a juvenile crocodile really needs is a pedicure,  waxing and skin exfoliation.  The poor croc was probably wondering what it had done to deserve being treated like this by two dumb animals. 

However, one northern territorian was not taken in by their ‘story’. 

‘They all look like they’re about to do something...smile and ask what the heck am I doing here?’ he commented on a local paper’s website. 

A clue to why the staff resorted to such desperate measures may lie in the fact that the spa has recently changed hands. 

It’s enough to reduce animal lovers to tears. 

Started with seals - partiallyclips.com


Crocodiles of the World - Visits No:2&3

I have now been to Crocodiles of the World 3 times - if only it was closer and I didn't have to hire a car each time…

Each time has been so nice to be able to observe these incredible creatures.  I am really impressed at what Shaun has managed to set up here and I sincerely hope he can keep on growing this business - and I suspect with his energy and passion for his croc's he will make a great success of this venture.

Siamese Croc 

Cuviers Dwarf Caiman - my sponsor croc :-)
Nile baby

Prehistoric hand
Black Caiman - incognito...