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THE MONITOR (Kampala, Uganda) 08 March 05 Man-eating crocodile captured (Dorothy Nakaweesi)
Photo: Under Control: UWA officials load the reptile onto a pick-up truck on Sunday (Photo by Wandera w’Ouma).
Buwama: Residents of Luganga landing site in Mutumba sub-county Bugiri district will now enjoy some peace after a team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) mounted an operation in which they captured a notorious man-eating crocodile.
The reptile, according to officials, is close to five metres long and weighs between 800 and 1,000 kilogrammes. It is estimated to be 60 years old.
Residents claimed it had eaten over 80 people since 1986.
The reptile was yesterday transferred to the Uganda Crocs Limited, a privately owned crocodile farm in Buwama, Mpigi district.
The officials said it will be kept at the farm. A memorandum of understanding was signed between UWA and managers of the crocodile farm.
“Much as the residents of Luganga wanted to kill the reptile after our rangers had captured it, it is our responsibility to protect it by removing it from that area and keeping it in a safe place. This will save lives of the people. UWA no longer kills wildlife but captures them,” said UWA Public Relations Officer, Ms Lillian Nsubuga.
“The initiative to capture wild crocodiles started in 2001 after complaints from the residents. Our aim was to get and kill it but with training on how to capture such animals, we abandoned the issue of killing since it would endanger the species. Now with these skills we organized a successful four day hunt and on Sunday morning we captured the biggest and only male that has been giving people problems,” an official said.
Man-eating crocodile captured

NP

NEW VISION (Kampala, Uganda) 09 March 05 UWA, well done on crocodile (Editorial)
Wildlife experts have captured and relocated a crocodile believed to have eaten dozens of people in Bugiri district since the 1980s. The 60-year-old reptile will now spend the rest of its lifetime at a crocodile farm in Buwama, Mpigi district, where it will produce young ones.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) should be highly commended for this move. It is a win-win situation. Bugiri people are relieved, the crocodile has survived death, the farm’s parent stock has increased and Uganda will get more foreign exchange.
The successful relocation is a demonstration that there are enough tools and scientific knowledge to resolve conflicts between wild animals and human beings without killing the animals.
Killing such animals in the name of vermin control is counterproductive. It depletes populations of scarce animal species, denies the animals their rights to live and leads to economic loss. In any case when a crocodile kills a human being for a meal, it does not know that it is doing wrong.
However, the operation was long overdue. It only came after the district’s vermin control operatives failed to shoot down the crocodile.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority should always step in early enough to save animals from being killed. The UWA should make it practice to intervene and provide timely and appropriate solutions where animals are accused either destroying crops or killing people.
Whereas relocating the crocodile has provided immediate relief, UWA and stakeholders should address the root causes.
Human flesh is not the basic food for crocodiles. When crocodiles eat human beings, it is a symptom of an underlying environmental problem such as over-fishing and depletion of their natural prey. In addition, communities around water bodies should be educated on how to avoid being eaten by crocodiles.
UWA should also gazette some areas to serve as crocodile sanctuaries for crocodiles and other fauna as well as breeding sites for fish.
UWA, well done on crocodile

Killer crocodile snared in Uganda

16-foot beast ate scores of people, officials say

An official from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority steps over a 16-foot-long crocodile after its delivery to a sanctuary on Tuesday. The crocodile is said to have eaten 83 people over the last two decades.

Updated: 12:29 p.m. ET March 8, 2005KAMPALA, Uganda - A 16-foot-long (5-meter-long) crocodile said to have eaten more than 80 people has been caught alive in Uganda and transferred to a sanctuary, officials said Tuesday.

The giant beast — weighing about a ton — was captured by wildlife experts who spent three nights camping in the bush before locating their target.

Residents told local media the crocodile killed 83 people over the last two decades, mostly fishermen plying their trade on Lake Victoria off the shores of Bugiri district.

“Much as the residents of Luganga wanted to kill the reptile after our rangers had captured it, it is our responsibility to protect it by removing it from that area and keeping it in a safe place,” Uganda Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga told us.

The beast — reportedly more than 60 years old — was trapped using ropes and transported by pickup truck to the Buwama crocodile farm, west of the capital, Kampala.

The state-owned New Vision newspaper said it “roared” as it was released into a holding ground at the farm Monday.

Crocodiles sometimes attack and kill villagers collecting water or fishing in Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest lake.

Later!

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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

Yep certainly a pretty big croc.