another croc shot at school this morning

[waruikazi]

Here's another one that was shot on Thursday night. I am tanning the hyde on this one and also cleaning up the skull.

And the (half way) end result.

 

[Waterrat]

I can see a new career developing for you Gordo. Sick of teaching?
Would I be far off to say that those cops are there are bloody trigger-happy rednecks?

 

[Jungle_Freak]

One hell of a interesting place to be working and living Gordon .
Just not the best place to go swiming ???
Post pics when you have finished the skull and tanned the hide .
Roger

 

[waruikazi]

I can see a new career developing for you Gordo. Sick of teaching?
Would I be far off to say that those cops are there are bloody trigger-happy rednecks?

Nah this one was shot by some locals. Apparently the T/O of our area has declared that there are too many in the wrong places and if they are spotted in places where people go fishing the larger ones need to be shot.

One hell of a interesting place to be working and living Gordon .
Just not the best place to go swiming ???
Post pics when you have finished the skull and tanned the hide
Roger

Sorry, should have said, i'm only doing the hyde and another teacher is doing the skull of this one (it's in much poorer condition than the one i did last week) and it's a pretty big job to do properly.

I'll post up some updated pics of the one i'm doing in the next day or so... you're all lucky that smellovision hasn't been invented yet lol.

 

[-Katana-]

One set of nice boots for you, War! (and a handbag if you so inclined..lol)

 

[waruikazi]

One set of nice boots for you, War! (and a handbag if you so inclined..lol)

I promised the handbag to Jay lol!

 

[-Katana-]

Bugger! Missed out again!

 

[snakelover33]

Y not just let it go????????
Cuae it aint gonna shoot you when you go to it's territory plus it's his territory.. y bulid a school next to a swamp or what ever you guys should know better... but heey life is l.ife aint it gotta learn to suck it up and go.

 

[waruikazi]

Y not just let it go????????
Cuae it aint gonna shoot you when you go to it's territory plus it's his territory.. y bulid a school next to a swamp or what ever you guys should know better... but heey life is l.ife aint it gotta learn to suck it up and go.

I know that alot of people will find this thread offensive, especially people who have a love for Aussie native wildlife but i think that the offense will be ballanced by the people who are interested in it. If crocs were a good candidate for relocating then i would be pushing for this to take place. Unfortunately, for the croc, they do not relocate well and usually end up back where they started.

I've often wondered why this school, and whole community, was built on a floodplain. It really wasn't the most intelligent thing for the missionaries to do back in the early 1900's but it was done.

The thing you also need to remember snakelover is that, even though crocs aren't normally used as a food source, both of these animals were eaten. They were also being a danger to people, there is no doubt in my mind that a human life is far far more important than any crocodile's.

 

[Elapidae1]

And there is way to many of the suckers up there anyway. Maybe they should set a quota each year and hand out permits so people can legally hunt them. Could be a good money spinner for the communitys

 

[waruikazi]

And there is way to many of the suckers up there anyway. Maybe they should set a quota each year and hand out permits so people can legally hunt them. Could be a good money spinner for the communitys

I wouldn't say too many but there is alot lol. The problem i can see with trophy hunting is that the hunters will want to shoot the biggets of the big bucks. Which is bad because they keep the numbers of smaller bucks down in any given area. If you visit a billabong or a stretch of river where a big black buck is living you'll be lucky to spot another male.

 

[Elapidae1]

Is this a problem for the crocs themselves or will it increase danger to humans.

 

[waruikazi]

Is this a problem for the crocs themselves or will it increase danger to humans.

I see it as a problem for people.

Do you remember Eric the Croc from ARP? Well he was caught in the 80's at Cahills Crossing, which is about 10 minutes from our community, he was a massive buck at well over 5m. While he was around there were no other crocs at the crossing, now with him gone it's not unusual to see more than 10 crocs in the high 3m range fishing down there. And if memory serves me right two people have been eaten at Cahills since his removal.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Is relocation to one of Darwin's croc farms or attractions not an option Gordo? I used to work for Malcolm Douglas at his Broome farm (and later zoo) and most reported "problem" crocs ended up at one of his places, as breeders, or the croc farm in Wyndham. Mind you, he had a good set up and we were often able to travel as far as Kalumburu Community by road (or boat) depending on the time of year. On one occasion, we camped at a local Derby community to trap a large, problem croc ("Santa", if you've ever been to Broome croc park), set and baited the trap that afternoon and got up next morning to check the trap and some of the community kids were using it as a springboard!! Malcolm reckons all the noise and splashing most likely kept "Santa" at bay.

 

[pythonmum]

Great pics. Could make an interesting floor covering and even have enough for clutch bags for both you and Jay! Can you save me one of the bones from the hide on the back?!
Did you try eating any of that meat yet? I reckon you must have been pretty exhausted after that job. Good thing you are young and still have a good back. Bending and sawing away with rapidly dulling knives would be the pits. In my younger years I tried to butcher a feral pig with a pocket knife, but gave up. Guess I wasn't hungry or stubborn enough. (neither was the friend who shot it)

And yes, I am very glad that smellovision has not been invented...

 

[Elapidae1]

Ok. I have been to Oenpelli in the dry season didn't see any crocs, but I was only there for a day. I did a spot of fishing I think the place was called Red Lilly or a water course next to Red lilly, I was nervous the whole time. a lot of the other places we went, there were crocs everywhere, the general line of thought from the people I was with was that some form of hunting system or culling was needed to mreduce numbers, i can't say I know enough about there habits ETC, other than that there is plenty of them. I can see how getting rid of the big males could be problematic for people though. I would personally love the opportunity to butcher one.

 

[waruikazi]

Is relocation to one of Darwin's croc farms or attractions not an option Gordo? I used to work for Malcolm Douglas at his Broome farm (and later zoo) and most reported "problem" crocs ended up at one of his places, as breeders, or the croc farm in Wyndham. Mind you, he had a good set up and we were often able to travel as far as Kalumburu Community by road (or boat) depending on the time of year. On one occasion, we camped at a local Derby community to trap a large, problem croc ("Santa", if you've ever been to Broome croc park), set and baited the trap that afternoon and got up next morning to check the trap and some of the community kids were using it as a springboard!! Malcolm reckons all the noise and splashing most likely kept "Santa" at bay.

Some are relocated to parks etc but i would think the costs involved, especially dring the wet, would make it a bit impractical. Even if they are taken to a park, that animal might as well be dead. It is no longer contributing to the ecosystem and at best it will be used to make babies that will be made into handbags. There are also hundreds of crocs removed from Darwin harbour every year that go to the farms, i would assume with that many animals going in every year they really wouldn't need any more from this far abroad. I would even wager that a great many of them would be killed when they do get to the farms. There's only so many crocs needed.

Great pics. Could make an interesting floor covering and even have enough for clutch bags for both you and Jay! Can you save me one of the bones from the hide on the back?!
Did you try eating any of that meat yet? I reckon you must have been pretty exhausted after that job. Good thing you are young and still have a good back. Bending and sawing away with rapidly dulling knives would be the pits. In my younger years I tried to butcher a feral pig with a pocket knife, but gave up. Guess I wasn't hungry or stubborn enough. (neither was the friend who shot it)

And yes, I am very glad that smellovision has not been invented...

I plan on framing it and putting up in the science lab with the skull from the first croc. I would love to send you a whole skull if i could but unfortunately it is illegal for me to do so. Communities are a bit like the matrix. Rules can be bent and in some cases broken all together but as soon as you enter the real world... no more lol.

Ok. I have been to Oenpelli in the dry season didn't see any crocs, but I was only there for a day. I did a spot of fishing I think the place was called Red Lilly or a water course next to Red lilly, I was nervous the whole time. a lot of the other places we went, there were crocs everywhere, the general line of thought from the people I was with was that some form of hunting system or culling was needed to mreduce numbers, i can't say I know enough about there habits ETC, other than that there is plenty of them. I can see how getting rid of the big males could be problematic for people though. I would personally love the opportunity to butcher one.

Red lily has an absolute thumper living in it, i think i have a photo of him somewhere to, i've never seen any croc except for him in it. I've seen some smaller ones in a billabong nearby but not in huge numbers.

Butchering a croc gets old really really quickly lol.

Here he is, i think this one is named 'Max'

 

[Sock Puppet]

Nice crocs Gordo, they are such an impressive predator. And the meat is actually alright too (I assume that's where the tail went, the best bit)
Just to play Devil's Advocate, are there laws or regulations involved with the keeping of croc parts like skins & skulls? I was under the impression that one had to be licenced to do this (eg croc farms etc)? Do you have exemptions being part of a local community? Or are legally shot crocs exempt from the skin etc laws?
Love em or hate em, a big croc is an awesome, impressive, & exceptional beast. Great pics, keep em coming.

 

[waruikazi]

Nice crocs Gordo, they are such an impressive predator. And the meat is actually alright too (I assume that's where the tail went, the best bit)
Just to play Devil's Advocate, are there laws or regulations involved with the keeping of croc parts like skins & skulls? I was under the impression that one had to be licenced to do this (eg croc farms etc)? Do you have exemptions being part of a local community? Or are legally shot crocs exempt from the skin etc laws?
Love em or hate em, a big croc is an awesome, impressive, & exceptional beast. Great pics, keep em coming.

There definatley are laws, you need a permit with any product of a protected species. The parts of the crocodiles that we are preserving do not actually belong to me, they belong to the school and technically that may still be illegal. But like i said, when you're on indigenous land the rules can be bent and in some cases broken all together.

 

[LatinaCarrino6]

Good Pics, But howcome all these crocs had to be shot, I understand they were near residential areas and a school, but why cant someone come in and tranq them and take em to a wildlife sanctuary or something ? And where in australia is this? I Cant figure it out lols