Man Eating Crocodile - WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

[MJ75]

Yep, my bad. Misread that. A bit of a difference there then....

 

[Philip Glass]

But if you take out the big ones then there won't be tons of baby ones being eaten! Are you sure that would not increase the population?

I can tell you for sure though that one person is not eaten every second as suggested further up the thread though! That would be 31,536,000 people per annum!

So you are arguing against trophy Croc hunting? Confused!
Philip

 

[spike.t]

So you are arguing against trophy Croc hunting? Confused!
Philip

philip i think @MJ75 is quoting you saying that the big ones eat lots of baby crocs , but what he is bringing up is that if they are shot they wont be able to eat lots of babies so that would cause a population explosion.....if you read your post it kind of contradicts itself with this part....hope that came across in an understandable fashion.......

 

[Philip Glass]

My point was, after having my croc hunt nearly ruined by an anti in Zim, to point out the benefits both to mankind and to the species of killing old crocs. I was attempting to give hunters ammo to use in the aforementioned debate on trophy hunting. Lots of crocs can kill people but the really smart old ones specifically go after people on the shores and in small boats. All the antis say everything is endangered so killing old crocs, in theory, increases the population.
Maybe that will sink in.

Regards,
Philip

 

[MJ75]

So you are arguing against trophy Croc hunting? Confused!
Philip

No. My comments are simply pointing out that crocs regulate their own populations to a degree by being cannibalistic. If you remove the largest animals then you end up with an increased population. This has been seen here at home where some trout fisheries removed the large pike. A species which is also cannibalistic. This action resulted in a population explosion which was the last thing they wanted.

However... What we all need to bear in mind is that there are many species of crocs. Over 20 in fact. But only six or so are a regular threat to human life. Not that long ago I read that saltwater crocs in northern Australia were doing so well that the government chose to allow hunting again. Some details here :-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...crocodile-hunting-for-15000-per-creature.html

I don't subscribe to the "a crosc might kill people therefore they should all be killed" mentality though.

I visited Big Cypress National Preserve back in september this year. As well as seeing around three hundred alligators we were very lucky and got to see two American Crocodiles in Lake Placid, Everglades City. I was fishing with my three year old at the time. They came close when I was reeling in catfish so we had to stop. One of them went under the water. Bearing in mind I was on a dock just six inches above the water line I walked backwards and wound in as it just seemed too dangerous to be there with a toddler. Anyway, long story short, he resurfaced six feet from the dock. I'm sure he came back up because he'd lost sight of me after I'd moved away. I didn't feel the need to kill them though! And yep, I know they're CITIES protected. Since then though I've read that attacks by crocodiles in the US are very rare indeed.

 

[spike.t]

plenty other things eat baby crocs as well. its some tiny proportion like 1 to 2 % that make it to adult hood. the percentage that croc farms have to release back into the wild from the eggs they take from the wild crocs at an age where they have more chance of surviving far exceeds what would have survived if they had hatched in the wild.

 

[spike.t]

My point was, after having my croc hunt nearly ruined by an anti in Zim, to point out the benefits both to mankind and to the species of killing old crocs. I was attempting to give hunters ammo to use in the aforementioned debate on trophy hunting. Lots of crocs can kill people but the really smart old ones specifically go after people on the shores and in small boats. All the antis say everything is endangered so killing old crocs, in theory, increases the population.
Maybe that will sink in.

Regards,
Philip

no probs i was just trying to say how your post read and how i presumed mj75 had perceived it

 

[MJ75]

My point was, after having my croc hunt nearly ruined by an anti in Zim, to point out the benefits both to mankind and to the species of killing old crocs. I was attempting to give hunters ammo to use in the aforementioned debate on trophy hunting. Lots of crocs can kill people but the really smart old ones specifically go after people on the shores and in small boats. All the antis say everything is endangered so killing old crocs, in theory, increases the population.
Maybe that will sink in.

Regards,
Philip

Sink in?

Philip, not only am I hunter, I'm involved with race horses, angling, and own a pet related business. In every instance there I've come across those opposed to those hobbies / industries. I could probably write a book on the exploits of antis. I've also been involved in fighting them here in the UK. You'll have to trust me when I say that I understand antis fairly well!!!

But I think you can only ever have a truly meaningful discussion on the pros and cons of trophy hunting when you discuss individual species, location (as you know a species may thrive in one geographic location but be struggling in another), method of hunting and of course the overall management plan etc. In short, it looks to me like trophy hunting in Northern Australia might have conservation benefits. It would be very stupid to kill an American Crocodile in Florida though. Hope that makes sense?

 

[Rule 303]

Every second day, meaning 182-183 per year.

And Hippos kill more than that, apparently.

MJ75just to put a fly in your ointment. Taking the odd big one ie the dominant male dose not lead to an increase in the population. It does slow the spread as not as many of the younger ones are pushed out of their area. Not taking the larger ones does increase the range of the croc. This has been/is happening in Australia where we are not allowed to hunt them.