The following is over a year old ... but I included it for the 'unusual' factor ... I thought cougars were the alpha-predator for bachelors?
BORNEO POST (Kuching, Malaysia) 22 April 07 Croc’s penchant for bachelors - If the shaman’s word is anything to go by, Jemhari is just the reptile’s third bachelor victim; four to go
Miri: It may sound incredible to some but a ‘bomoh’ or shaman had once told villagers at Sungai Kulat in Bakong to be alert when fishing or bathing in the river as the crocodile is seeking seven bachelors.
Saini Hamdan, 32, another brother of the crocodile’s latest victim, Jemhari, told The Borneo Post this yesterday.
Saini said during the search-and-rescue operation on Friday night, a villager had informed him about the shaman’s warning.
It appeared that the seven bachelors would be taken at a rate of one bachelor per year.
“My younger brother Jamhari Hamdan, 24, is the third victim,” Saini said.
“The two earlier victims had also been bachelors attacked by the crocodile and killed in 2005 and 2006 - each victim per year.”
No matter what story was told by villagers on the crocodiles endangering villagers or people taking baths in the river, Saini accepted that it was fated and his family accepted that his younger brother had been taken while in the prime of life.
Although traumatised over his brother’s death, he hoped the authority concerned would do something about it as the reptile was endangering the lives of people in the area.
“The incident is a sad one as the life of a loved one has been taken. He hoped the authority can pursue the matter by identifying the dangerous killer croc,” he said.
Meanwhile Marudi deputy police chief, ASP James Raymond, when contacted revealed that the body was found by the SAR party involved in the operation.
He has left the matter to the Sarawak Forestry Corperation (SFC) for further action to be taken and for a study of the affected river.
He said police had received many reports on encounters with crocodiles in the area, and that was worrying.
Croc’s penchant for bachelors


