20-Foot Salt Water Crocodile

[Mark]

What a croc!

Monster 20-foot crocodile captured Photos

 

[frankthedm]

Cool. That one is as big as Gustave is supposed to be.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

PETA is already asking that it be released...ignoring the fact that it is suspected of being a man-eater. Taking that into account, the croc is lucky the thing wasn't presumed guilty and killed when caught.

Instead, they're considering keeping it in captivity and using it for a bit of ecotourism.

I'm siding with the locals on this one.





Though I AM reminded of Betty White's lines from Lake Placid:

Mrs. Bickerman: I'm rooting for the crocodile. I hope he swallows your friends whole.

 

[frankthedm]

PETA is already asking that it be released...ignoring the fact that it is suspected of being a man-eater.

What makes you think they are ignoring that fact?

 

[Kzach]

Why kill it just because it ate a few people? It's not like it knows the difference between murder and food. If people are dumb enough to get in it's way, then how is it the crocodile's fault that it's hungry?

 

[Umbran]

Why kill it just because it ate a few people?

Humans are not known for coming up with working compromises with nature.

 

[GreyLord]

I got a great idea for PETA. Get those who object to having the crocodile captured. Give each of them a high caliber gun. Then put them in an enclosure that is basically just a pond with one small island in the middle for them to sleep on...if they so wish. Let them alone with the crocodile for two weeks. See who walks out afterwards.

If the crocodile (if it's a maneater, much less of the PETA folks will be there, but they'll at least have stayed true to their colors), export him to somewhere in Africa (or deep in the ocean if he's a salt water croc) and let him go in the wild.

If the PETA people...well...bill them for ammunition and make sure they realize THEY were the ones that killed the crocodile (and probably ate a bit of him for food, afterall...it IS two weeks)...not the public...and it's their actions which made the crocodile unable to be let go into the wild.

Solves the problem. Not very moral though...probably illegal...so probably better not to use that suggestion.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Why kill it just because it ate a few people? It's not like it knows the difference between murder and food. If people are dumb enough to get in it's way, then how is it the crocodile's fault that it's hungry?

It's not really about "oo et oo", or fault- it's partly about revenge, it's partly about safety. After all, you're not going to get an entire fishing community to move...and even if they did, the croc would probably follow.

(There are reports of giant catfish- like the Goonch of India- being drawn to human settlements because of local river burial practices and/or how & where people clean their killed livestock and such.)

Most suspected man-eaters get killed just on suspicion, in part because we make such easy prey: man-eaters often turn into repeat offenders. This "croc of interest" at least has a chance to live on.

Release it to the wild, and if it kills someone and it WILL get killed the next opportunity.

 

[Orius]

As always, PETA is being silly. Saltwater crocs are one of the few animal species that actively preys on humans, so naturally a community is going to see it as a threat. They're not going to kill it, but instead use it as an attraction for ecotourism. This could provide the community with economic benefits (because you know, fishing communities typically wallow in wealth) and help conservation efforts.

PETA seems to like to ignore the fact that humans are animals as well, and we respond to a lot of the same basic stimuli other animals do. In this case , it's a response to predation. The only difference is our higher intelligence and ability to reason that an animal like this may prey upon us. This ability to reason is one of the reasons that some of the apex predators that will hunt humans are endangered; we're killing them before they kill us.

 

[Kzach]

I got a great idea for PETA.

The only difference between your statements and PETA's is that they're on opposite sides of the extremist fence. One being just as bad as the other.

Here's a thought. Crocodile live and eat here. People live and eat there. Don't mix. Problem solved.