Australian Wildlife Ranger Killed By Crocodile
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On Friday, in Australia’s Northern Territory, A wildlife ranger was killed by a crocodile while gathering mussels with her family in a waterhole.
The woman, an indigenous member of the community, was attacked in a remote area 28 miles southwest of the community of Yirrkala. The employment safety watchdog NT WorkSafe says it is investigating the incident.
Her dismembered body was recovered hours later about half a mile from where she was taken by the crocodile, per Northern Territory Police Commander Tony Fuller.
Local wildlife rangers managed to locate and kill the crocodile. “She was with the group … and the group noticed her missing,” says Fuller. “They heard some splashing. The bucket that she was carrying was found nearby.”
Fuller says the woman had been in waist-deep water when she was taken, and it’s uncertain whether she was working as a wildlife ranger at the time.
The last fatal crocodile attack in Australia was October last year when a 79-year-old dementia patient was killed after wandering from a nursing home at Port Douglas in Queensland state.
Crocodiles have been a protected species in Australia since the 1970s, which has led to an explosion in their population across the country’s tropical north, much to the chagrin of the locals.
Saltwater crocodiles can live up 70 years and grow throughout their lives, reaching up to 23 feet in length, and the proportion of large crocodiles is rising commensurately.
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It happens in Florida more often. Golf courses, ponds in housing developments and the endless drainage canals are filled with these things while too many people grew up in the north and don’t see the danger in sitting on the bank cooling their toes. Florida gators love dogs – sort of like sushi to them but west of here they sometimes take cattle. No, I’m not joking.
Crocodilians: Caimans, crocks and alligators multiply faster than rabbits and with so many people in the South living near wetlands or canals or lakes they can be damned dangerous. There’s a long running show about Louisiana and Texas gator hunters who thin the herd every year, taking the big and deadly old ones to keep the population younger and smaller. In some states they can use guns. In others not. Sorry to say to the PETA folks, it’s necessary unless we want to abandon several states to the reptiles.
For one season there was a knock-off show set in Australia where the hunters aren’t allowed guns unless they are indigenous. It was easy to tell which was which from seeing who had a full complement of arms and legs.
Too bad the croc had to die also.
My first thought: poor crocodile.
Good point guys. I am not sure that crocs, unlike rogue tigers or lions ever acquire a preference for human prey since they pretty well eat anything that’s offered to them. Still, human encroachment into wildlife areas is going to bring about conflicts. We may need to start arming the animals.