Crocodiles wreak havoc on district, kill child

[spike.t]

nothing to forgive, I too thought the children were more important than croc,s.. animal lives over human lives is sick. and whats the waste about killing a animal that takes children and adults? killer elephants, cats and buffalo are hunted down and killed like they should be, so whats special about croc,s? they and not a endangered species, for heaven sakes they are raised and killed for meat, belts, shoes and hand bags for the ladies.

You really don't get it. Read mine and petes posts again..... .this not living in Usa or Europe or wherever things are nicely sanitised for everyone ....yes ele buff lion are Hunted down and shot for killing people.. But it's usually a lot easier to identify the culprit or culprits with those species..but as has been said a large percentage of crocs in some areas will have bangles etc in their stomachs.....fine if you can specifically pinpoint a croc that has killed someone. ....but to go shooting them left right and centre is to me not justified ......yes they farm them but in a lot of their former habitat they have been wiped out because of population increases and them being killed by fishermen when caught in their nets or from explosives used by said fishermen. ....people will go get water or wash clothes in the same spot on the river bank where someone was taken a day or two before..... As Pete said they built a bridge but people still don't or won't use it.....so no point getting wound up or seeming to take it personally.. ..its not going to stop..... Well not unless as you want they are all shot......as basically with crocs in rivers and lakes and people using them.....well simply people will get taken......

 

[leslie hetrick]

where did I say kill all croc,s ?, and yes I get it. if your ok with some of your natives getting gobbled up its fine with me. but as soon as one of your friends or family gets ate you may change your mind or mind set, as it would not cost much to make them safe while in or near the waters.

 

[spike.t]

I give up you you just don't get it. Out if it

 

[norfolk shooter]

IMHO if one is stupid enough to walk into a known croc hot spot and you get taken tough. Its this thing called natural selection. Like my Grandfather said if you stand your ground in a tiger charge you will live run and you WILL die. And in my words me and sharks have a nice arraignment. I dont swim in there ocean and they dont walk into my local pub.
Meaning if you know there are crocs in the water dont go in!!!!! Its simple I wish the west would stop looking at things with a strange tint in there glasses.

 

[leslie hetrick]

well I guess there are a lot of stupid people living along the African rivers, and the some of the young ones will never grow up to be stupid. taking off my tinted glasses I get it now, no sense trying to save any of them.

 

[norfolk shooter]

well I guess there are a lot of stupid people living along the African rivers, and the some of the young ones will never grow up to be stupid. taking off my tinted glasses I get it now, no sense trying to save any of them.

My friend there is a different mind set out there. I have done aid work with the UN in Africa and the one thing I remember is life has very little value.

 

[Wheels]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,, as it would not cost much to make them safe while in or near the waters.

Your concern for kids is admirable. I think we all have that concern. However, you are making a typical Western mindset decision, that a safe way to draw water will even be used by the locals. Your also determining that the African's aren't smart enough to figure out a way to protect themselves and their kids from crocodile attack. They are very capable of making a safe area to draw water or bath if they want to. The mindset you project, is the mindset that has been used by the west in Africa since David Livingston, Robert Moffat, and a host of others. Some successfully, some not.

What @PeteG and @spike.t have tried to show with their examples, is that western ideas don't necessarily mesh with African culture and ideas. Here are a couple more examples that I am aware of in the last 3-4 years from my little corner of Tanzania. ps: New examples arise every week.

1. A man was fishing with a net on a pool in the river. There was a pod of hippos and he was bit cleanly through the buttocks by the bull. He was in the hospital for a week and released. 2-3 days after release, he was in the same spot with the same net catching fish with the same pod of hippos 20 yards away. Not 200 yards up stream or down stream. The same spot. As a side note, there are also plenty of crocs in this river.

2. An American friend of mine was living in Africa for about a year. He was employing an African friend of mine. The African's two year old died of malaria. He and his family mourned for a couple of days, maybe a week and they were over it. My American friend was broken up feeling horrible for his friend and employee. He knew the kid was sick the day before being taken to the hospital and felt he should have intervened and taken the kid. My African friend told him it was okay and not to worry. He could not understand my American friend being broken up about the situation for a few months. My American friend thought his African employee didn't truly love his child to be over it so soon. Both friends solicited my help to explain it to the other. I was stuck in the middle, understanding both men's plights but not able to adequately explain it to the other.

3. An American organization drills water wells in Africa. They came to a rural village that had a mud hole a mile away from the village. The mud hole was used by humans, livestock and wild animals. Urine and feces were everywhere in the water. The American organization drilled a water well in the center of the village. There was good clear and clean water for everyone. A couple months later the people that drilled the well drove by and were shocked to see the women drawing water from the mud-hole. They were afraid the water well was broke. They were surprised when they found out it was working perfectly. They asked the village leaders why they weren't using the new well. Come to find out the members of the village had never had firm stools in their life. They didn't like the feel or the idea of firm stools, so they wen't back to the mud hole. (even though their kids got sick and died from the contents) An American do good organization had just wasted another $3,000 in Africa.

As I tried to communicate in my post #17. The western mindset and the African mindset don't always mesh. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that western ideas have proven to not be the solution for Africa. The sooner the west stops forcing their ideas on Africa, the sooner the west won't be despised as colonial and imperial suppressors.

Unless you have lived in sub-Saharan, Africa, or spent quite a bit of time there, this is hard to comprehend. Pete and spike provide a tremendous amount of great information in their posts, if we listen.

 

[PeteG]

well I guess there are a lot of stupid people living along the African rivers, and the some of the young ones will never grow up to be stupid. taking off my tinted glasses I get it now, no sense trying to save any of them.

Let me give you another example.
Roughly 500m from my house at the lake is where many kids swim, women draw water and people bath. Every year there is an incident or a few incidents with crocs and villagers.

I supply borehole water to anyone who wants it. They can draw as much as they can carry whenever they need.
The government drilled a borehole in the same village years ago as well. It is operational.
Yet they still swim, wash and draw water from the lake.
Why?
Now when I say it’s a shame that crocs are targeted to be shot due to attacks, does it make sense that the feeling I expressed is due to the villagers own doing?
Have you ever tried to shoot a man eating croc? Any idea how many times the wrong crocs are shot before the right one is?
I swim, snorkel and scuba in the lake. I know the risks. We all do.
I do not splash around in the same place every day though because I know that crocs are hunters and will watch and find a pattern in activity.
I have had to kill a croc that was less than 10ft away from killing me. I know what risk I took to ensure the croc that had just killed 2 kids was the one I shot. I also know that if I had missed a swimming brain shot on a croc at 10ft then I would not be typing this message right now.
Perhaps I could have hung a bait and shot all 10 or so crocs in the area instead of taking the risk to shoot the right one like I did?
Perhaps after one shot it would have moved off to the other village and continued killing?
You can decide.
I think crocs are amazing creatures, but I have also had my life in danger of being shortened on many occasions due to them. Walking along a bank for 300m with nowhere to go but along the water edge and having a croc sit watching and waiting for you is a scary feeling. Having it lunge out the water as you make a run for safety is a f***ing scary feeling.
After shooting a 17ft+ croc that still has undigested human parts inside and seeing it as little satisfaction to the family. Yet the family will move on. If I had children, I doubt I would be able to move on in that same way. I would be distraught.