THE AUSTRALIAN (Sydney, Australia) 11 July 06 Girl's death spurs crocodile dispute (Ashleigh Wilson)
The death of a girl from a crocodile attack has inflamed debate over managing the predator in the Northern Territory, with experts claiming their warnings about rising crocodile numbers were ignored.
Police and Parks and Wildlife rangers shot two crocodiles yesterday along the remote Blythe River, near the Aboriginal community of Ramingining in Arnhem Land, where the eight-year-old was taken while collecting water on Saturday night.
While the shot crocodiles were believed to be the only ones in the river capable of such an attack, no sign of the girl's body was found, Commander Greg Dowd said.
"They have done autopsies onthose crocodiles to check stomach contents and they have not found any human remains," Commander Dowd said.
"We are continuing to look for the girl's remains, conducting water-based and land-based searches all along the edges of the river."
The girl, from the Aboriginal community of Maningrida, had been visiting relatives at the Gadji outstation. Her name has not been released.
Her uncle, Ronnie Barramala, said the crocodile probably hid the body on the river bank.
Crocodile numbers had to be reduced, he added.
"They're pests," he told the ABC. "Too many, too many."
While the Northern Territory Government has ruled out a cull, the attack has revived calls for limited safari hunting in remote parts of the Top End.
Environment Minister Ian Campbell last year knocked back a proposal to allow overseas hunters to kill 25 of the 600 crocodiles culled each year.
But, as The Australian revealed in April, the plan was set to be approved before celebrity conservationist Steve Irwin lobbied against it.
Crocodile expert Grahame Webb said locals wanted to manage the estimated 70,000 crocodiles in the Territory.
"They have just lost a child and the crocodiles in that area generate nothing for the local people, so they get no tradeoff at all," Mr Webb said.
"People in Maningrida are saying to me they're fed up to the teeth with people making decisions about the crocodiles that they have to live with. In other words, they should be in charge of their own destiny."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19746317-2702,00.html
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) 10 July 06 Hunt for croc that snatched girl, 8 (David Braithwaite with Edmund Tadros)
(AAP) Relatives of a young girl killed by a crocodile want a cull of the reptiles, but their plea fell on deaf ears today.
The eight-year-old girl was fishing on the Blythe River in northern Arnhem Land on Saturday night when taken by a crocodile.
Police and rangers today continued searching areas of the river, about 400 kilometres east of Darwin, in the hope of finding the girl's body.
The search coordinator, NT Police Acting Superintendent Tony Fuller, said police had so far found no sign of the girl's body or the crocodile responsible for the attack.
"The crews out there are very experienced, particularly the parks and wildlife people - if anyone is going to find them, they will," Supt Fuller said.
The girl's grieving uncle, Ronnie Barramala, said crocodile numbers needed to be reduced.
"They're pests. Too many, too many," he told ABC radio.
The unnamed girl was the victim of the third fatal crocodile attack in the NT in 18 months.
Hunting crocodiles in the Northern Territory was banned in 1971 and the government today ruled out a crocodile cull.
"It's not an issue, not a question before government at the moment," acting chief minister Syd Stirling said.
"We accept that crocodiles represent a danger - we expect people to exercise due diligence and care, not withstanding this, an awful tragedy."
Police understand the girl had been collecting water at the river's edge when the saltwater crocodile snatched her.
Police, rangers and Aboriginal community members from the Gadji out-station, where the girl lived, unsuccessfully hunted for the croc last night, Northern Territory police said.
The Aboriginal community believed they knew which animal killed the girl, Mr Fuller said.
"The locals seem to think they know which crocodile it was," he said.
"They're pretty clued up in that area, so we're looking for a crocodile that matched the description the locals have provided."
He said he believed the Gadji community was not far from the scene of the attack: "They're normally pretty close to the water."
A crocodile expert has called the attack a case of "incredible bad luck".
"The people here are unbelievably educated about crocodiles," said Grahame Webb, a professor of zoology and the manager of the Crocodylus Park research and education centre. "If you came to live in an area with crocodiles, this type of thing is going to happen through misadventure, not stupidity. The potential for attack is great."
He said Blythe River is known as a medium-density river, with four to five crocodiles a kilometre.
Professor Webb estimated there were about 70,000 crocodiles in the Northern Territory.
A ranger, Tommy Nichols, is due to lead the search for the crocodile, said a spokesman for the Northern Territory's environment department, Edwin Edlund. "Normally ... the location and recovery of the body is first and foremost priority," Mr Edlund said.
The girl is the sixth victim since 2002 to be killed by a crocodile in the Northern Territory.
Recent croc victims
Sep 2005 Darwin man Russell Butel, 55, killed while diving off Coburg Peninsula.
Sep 2005 Russell Harris, 37, killed while snorkelling off Groote Eylandt.
Aug 2005 Fisherman Barry Jefferies killed at Lakefield National Park, Cape York.
Dec 2003 Brett Mann, 22, killed in Finniss River, NT.
Oct 2002 Isabel von Jordan, 23, killed while swimming in Kakadu National Park.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hunt-for-killer-croc/2006/07/10/1152383651140.html
NEWS.COM.AU (Australia) 10 July 06 Croc may have to be killed
(AAP) A Saltwater crocodile that took an eight-year-old girl in the Northern Territory will probably have to be killed, a crocodile expert said.
The girl was fishing with her family in the Blythe River in Arnhem Land, east of Darwin, when the attack occurred about 8.30pm (CST) on Saturday, police said.
The girl is believed to have gone to the water's edge to collect water when she was taken by the reptile.
While the size of the crocodile was unknown, police said it was unlikely she had survived the attack.
Tactical response officers and parks and wildlife rangers travelled from Darwin to the remote site between Maningrida and Ramingining and last night were scouring the mouth of the river for the girl's body and prepared to harpoon the crocodile, but were unsuccessful.
Crocodile expert John Weigel, from the Australian Reptile Park, said it was likely that the reptile would have to be killed.
"The only thing that's really worked is the actual culling of the crocs," he told Macquarie Radio.
The attack should serve as a warning of the dangers of the Australian outback, Mr Weigel said.
"I guess today's accident demonstrates that they are very dangerous in the wild and they're a great big predator that eats things much bigger than us, so certainly people and crocodiles don't mix," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19739181-17001,00.html?from=public_rss
