Crocodile stolen from Snowtown - abc.net.au

14 December 2011

A Snowtown woman returned from a weekend trip to find that her pet freshwater crocodile, Pinocchio, was missing.


South Australian Police confirmed the crocodile had been stolen from its cage and are appealing for the public to help.

South Australian Police confirmed a crocodile has
been stolen from it's cage and are appealing for the
public to help. (ABC)

Owner Lorraine Samuels says she is worried about what may have happened to him.

"My worst fear is that someone has eaten him because crocodile meat has become a delicacy."

Mrs Samuels says she hopes that someone who really, really loves crocodiles has her 70cm long pet.

"He's gone...and now we've just got an empty enclosure sitting there. It's very sad."

ABC Mornings presenter, Ann Jones, spoke to Lorraine Samuels, click on the audio to hear the full interview.

Croc skins new focus for farmers - phnompenhpost.com

28 December 2011

Crocodile farmers in Siem Reap are turning away from the export of hatchlings to Vietnam, choosing instead sell the reptiles for their skins.

Luon Nam, president of the province’s Crocodile Feeding Association, said yesterday the reliance on Vietnam was an unsustainable strategy for the industry. 

Any change in demand from Cambodia’s eastern neighbour left farmers vulnerable to falling prices, he said. 

The CFA shipped about 200,000 crocodiles to Vietnam this year. That was 100,000, or 33 per cent, fewer than in 2010, Luon Nam said.

“The recent decrease in crocodile babies is because we have only the Vietnamese market, and that puts pressure on us,” he said.

Newly hatched crocodiles had fetched US$27 each earlier this year, but later fell by as much as 37 per cent to $17, Luon Nam said. This had pushed farmers towards the sale of crocodile skins instead, he said. 

“Feeding for skins is expected to see strong demand, because they are wanted in Vietnam, China, Thailand and Singapore,” Luon Nam said.

Crocodiles were sold for their skins at the age of three, when they had reached a length of 1.7 to 1.8 metres, Heng Sovannara, chief of the Crocodile Development Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said  One centimetre of skin sold for between $5 and $6, he said.

Sieam Reap-based farmer Toem Bun Seng said he was feeding about 500 crocodiles that he would sell for their skins. 

Toem Bun Seng said he had moved away from selling hatchlings because of the volatility of the Vietnamese market. “I will increase the number of crocodiles I’m raising for skins next year,” he said, adding that he hoped the government would find ways to subsidise the growing industry.

Heng Sovannara said the government was encouraging farmers to focus on crocodile skins.

“We want farmers to think about the future, and that’s exporting skins,” he said.

Man dives into croc pool to rescue mower - ninemsn.com.au

28 December 2011

A daring reptile park worker has dived into a monster crocodile's pool to retrieve a lawnmower just hours after the animal tried to attack staff at a Gosford wildlife park.

Australian Reptile Park curator Tim Faulkner was one of two workers who crept into the 5m croc's enclosure to grab the mower as the animal was lured away with kangaroo meat.

"I didn't mind jumping in the water, once the croc has fixed on a bit of food," he told AAP.

"Billy distracted him with 'roo meat and I just dove in and grabbed the mower."

Animal handlers at the park just north of Sydney were mowing the lawn at 8am (AEDT) this morning when the monster crocodile charged at them, grabbing the mower's wheel with its jaws.

He then dragged the mower into the park's pool with the engine still running.

The park's marketing manager Libby Bain told ninemsn staff were "flat out" getting the park ready this morning and used two mowers rather than one.

"He's very used to one mower but we think the second one is what's triggered him," Bain said.

Elvis, who has been described by park staff as the "unfriendliest crocodile you would ever want to meet", lost two teeth in the process.

Mr Faulkner said it probably wouldn't be the last time the 50-year-old croc made a nuisance of himself.

"He's just won a big game, so when we get in there to feed him later in the day he's going to be different crocodile, he's going to be the king," he told AAP.

Crocodile steals zoo worker's lawn mower -

28 December 2011 

A giant saltwater crocodile named Elvis with an apparent affinity for household machinery charged at 

an Australian reptile park worker Dec. 28 before stealing his lawn mower.

Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. The 16-foot (5-meter), 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) crocodile lunged out of its lagoon at a park worker tending to the lawn before stealing his lawn mower. (AP Photo/Libby Bain)

Visitors watch as Elvis, a giant saltwater crocodile swims next to a lawnmower in his pool at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.  (AP Photo/Libby Bain)

A lawn mower sits on the bottom of a pool next to a 500-kg (1,100-lb) crocodile at the Australian Reptile Park near Sydney in this December 28, 2011 handout. Two workers at a reptile park near Sydney ran for their lives on Wednesday after the crocodile named Elvis suddenly lunged at them, snapping up their lawnmower and losing two teeth. 

Elvis the crocodile attacks a lawnmower at the Australian Reptile Park in Gosford, north of Sydney, in this still image taken from video December 28, 2011. 

Crocodile kills child on Lake Edward - newvision.co.ug

25 December 2011

A would-be festive Christmas turned tragic for a Kasese district family when one of their children was killed by a crocodile on Lake Edward.

The incident claimed the life of 15-year-old Joshua Tugume of Rwenjubu cell, Katwe town Council. Tugume was a P.3 pupil at Katwe Boarding Primary School.

Tugume’s friends, who narrowly escaped, said he was bathing in the lake when the crocodile attacked.

The area chairperson, John Kasingo, said another boy, Tumwine Nanyongo, had gone missing since the incident.

At the time of his death, Tugume was in the company of Bahati Musimba, Moses Byaruhanga, Bashir Ashrim, and a boy, only, identified as Ashraf.

The Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area acting area manager, Nelson Guma, confirmed the incident.

“Our marines have retrieved the body and they are also hunting for the killer animal,” Guma said.

 He said they would create barriers around watering points to ensure residents and their livestock access the lake safely.

Croc killed Cairns spear fisherman - cairns.com.au

23 December 2011

Fatal attack: David Fordson who died of fatal 

injuries caused by a crocodile.

The Northern Coroner's Office has confirmed the fatal injuries suffered by Cairns spear fisher David Fordson earlier this month were caused by a "large estuarine crocodile".

The advice prompted warnings for boaties and divers to take extra precautions when visiting coastal Cape York this summer with crocodiles being spotted well offshore and at popular mooring sites.

In a statement, a coroner’s spokesperson said a post-mortem examination had been carried out during which police had sought specialist opinion from experts in crocodile and shark behaviour.

Mr Fordson, 49, was skipper of the cargo barge Torres Starservicing the Cairns to Thursday Island route when, ahead of schedule, they stopped to fish at the remote Cairncross Island group.

The alarm was raised when Mr Fordson failed to return to the vessel and his body was found in the early hours of December 6, with injuries initially thought to be from either a crocodile or a shark.

Underwater filmmaker and experienced boatie Ben Cropp has spent many years travelling the Cape York coastline and said he had noticed increasing numbers of crocodiles in the area.

Early summer is mating season for the animals, when the males are wandering further afield and looking for a female.

"On a recent trip we saw a lot of crocodiles and croc tracks all the way down the coast, and crocodiles at every offshore 
island we went to," he said.

"We’re talking six or eight miles out … on one little sand cay we saw three crocodiles, with three big tiger sharks in the shallows.

"These look like lovely places to moor but they are actually very, very dangerous, and Bushy Cay (where Mr Fordson was attacked) is only about three miles off the coast so it’s a lot closer to shore."

Mr Cropp said over the past seven years he had frequently seen a 3.5m crocodile lying on the sand at Bushy Cay.

Belgian police discover 11 crocodiles, alligator in search of villa - therepublic.com

23 December 2011

In this handout photo released by the Natuurhulpcentrum Opglabbeek, a Nile crocodile is held by a center employee in Opglabbeek, Belgium on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011. During a Belgian tax investigation Belgian police found 11 Nile crocodiles and an alligator hidden in a villa. The villa's owner, a 51-year-old German man, is in police custody and has been charged with animal neglect. (AP Photo/Natuurhulpcentrum)

BRUSSELS — Police carrying out a search discovered 11 Nile crocodiles — five of them squeezed into a small shower — and an alligator at a house in northern Belgian.

Police were searching the villa of a German man suspected of fraud in the village of Lapscheure Thursday when they came across the reptiles, said Frederik Thoelen, a biologist at the Nature Rescue Center where they are now being kept.

Five of the crocodiles were found squeezed into a small, dirty shower; five others were kept in an aquarium made for only two, Thoelen on Friday. The alligator, meanwhile, was rolled up in several blankets.

"They were really kept in horrible conditions," said Thoelen.

He said the owner told them the crocodiles were about 5 years old, but they were far too small for their age, most likely because of their restrictive caging and insufficient food. Instead of measuring more than two meters (6 feet), the newcomers at the rescue center in Opglabbeek, eastern Belgium, have grown only to a little over one meter (3 feet).

Police were searching the villa of a German man suspected of fraud in the village of Lapscheure Thursday when they came across the reptiles, said Frederik Thoelen, a biologist at the Nature Rescue Center where they are now being kept.

But things are bound to get better for the 12 reptiles, once they get released from the rescue center's intensive care unit.

The owner gave up his rights to the animals once it became clear that he did not have the necessary papers, said Thoelen. "That is very good news because now we can look for a new place for the animals," he said.

An animal shelter in Germany, which has more experience with reptiles, has already expressed some interest, but for the coming weeks, they will stay in Opglabbeek, said Thoelen.

The biologists at the center have already started preparations for new living quarters — water pool and underfloor heating included.

And they will be fed with chicken carcasses from the nearby slaughterhouse.

Thoelen said the animals most likely won't get a special treat for Christmas, because, "they got their biggest present yesterday" when they were rescued.