The MASM Forum Archive 2004 to 2012

General Forums => The Soap Box => Topic started by: hutch-- on September 15, 2011, 01:57:46 AM

Title: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 15, 2011, 01:57:46 AM
I jut watched the documentary as per the topic title and it ws interesting stuff. About 30 years ago salt water crocodiles were hunted to near extinction but since they have been protected their numbers have exploded from about 3000 to over 75000 and growing. They have to pull one out of Darwin harbour nearly every day and it is now clearly not a place to go swimming unless you want to be eaten.

What I did find fascinating was their capacity to swim hundreds of miles in open ocean shifting from one river system to another and even hunting turtles on some of the coastal islands directly off the beach. They are surprisingly smart, can pick incoming cyclones and move to safer places, travel reasonably long distances to hunt in different areas depending on the season and food supply.

They have not seen any of the real big ones that used to exist before they were nearly hunted out (over 20 feet long) but there seems to be enough partially grown ones over 10 feet long to make swimming in the Northern Territory a very risky business even well up stream where it used to be safe.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: vanjast on September 15, 2011, 06:39:19 AM
Crocodile hangbags, shoes, longgggg boots, and jackets will be 'in-fashion' soon  :bg
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: dedndave on September 15, 2011, 11:35:43 AM
they need to put a temporary bounty on them
the state of Arizona does that with coyote from time to time
we'll have a year of heavy rainfall - heavy vegetation, of course
that will be followed by a year of extra coyote food, like jackrabbits and quail
that will be followed by a year of too many coyote - lol
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 15, 2011, 11:54:44 PM
 :bg

Dave, you would like these things, they are smart predators, fast movers over long distances, will eat just about anything and they are perfectly adapted to the primeaevil swamp environment of their habitat but are equally at home swimming hundreds of miles in open sea to different islands. The only real solution is citizen .303 or the modern equivalent as their population has exploded since they were protected 30 or so years ago.

Most of the big ones were shot out before ww2 but my dad rememered very big ones (25 foot) around Broome in West OZ where they used to hang around the meat works there for the waste. His comment was a 12 guage fired into the open mouth did the job.  :P
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: dedndave on September 16, 2011, 12:16:57 AM
i am hoping you guys clean em up before they decide they like "american food"   :lol
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 16, 2011, 12:24:56 AM
In crocodile terms, American food means Americans and to be fair, they don't discriminate, they will even eat Americans.  :P
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: dedndave on September 16, 2011, 12:30:22 AM
 :lol
i wasn't refering to mickey D's   :bg

"Hey, Ralph, Let's swim over to the other side of the pond and have some fat, dumb american food"
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: MichaelW on September 16, 2011, 01:09:04 AM
If crocodile meat taste anything like alligator meat you could turn the excess into a new kind of steak on the barbie.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Bill Cravener on September 16, 2011, 10:40:03 AM
I once eat rattlesnake long ago and it was good. It tasted something like chicken. I suspect croc and gator tastes similar. I'd try any cooked meat put in front of me, well, except for human that is. :bg
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Farabi on September 17, 2011, 04:53:42 AM
It still exist on indonesia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGb-FOtP_5g

I dont know, it about 4 meters long.  :dazzled:
If we dont take any counter meassure, they will dominate us for sure, lets think about something what should we do to their race, bag or a shoes? Im serious, theyre danger for us.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 17, 2011, 10:27:56 AM
onan,

In Indonesia you have the same species of saltwater crocodile as we have in Australia and YES they are dangerous.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Farabi on September 17, 2011, 01:24:51 PM
Quote from: Bill Cravener on September 16, 2011, 10:40:03 AM
I once eat rattlesnake long ago and it was good. It tasted something like chicken. I suspect croc and gator tastes similar. I'd try any cooked meat put in front of me, well, except for human that is. :bg

We need a lot of peope like you. The more people like you, the more volunteer will showed up, that is the economic cycle rule, and it is universal.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Farabi on September 19, 2011, 12:19:05 AM
This is what would be happen if we keep feed human to the animal the biologist said, a mutation DNA

(http://samudro.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/foto-kedua-lele-guangdong2.jpg?w=465&h=689)
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: dedndave on September 19, 2011, 02:09:52 AM
he looks like he may have 3 or 4 people in him, now   :lol
a party - and i wasn't invited
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Magnum on September 20, 2011, 04:58:14 PM
I don't see any eyes on that critter.

What is it ?
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: dedndave on September 20, 2011, 05:28:06 PM
i am guessing some flavour of shark   :eek
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: MichaelW on September 20, 2011, 10:44:02 PM
It's a  Whale Shark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark).
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Farabi on September 21, 2011, 03:10:34 AM
Nature is a hardcore killer.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Tedd on September 21, 2011, 02:25:37 PM
Looks like a whale shark. They feed on plankton and other tiny sea life - not quite the flesh ripping maneater, but everyone loves mass hysteria ::)

(Its eyes are on the sides - you can see the bulges.)
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 22, 2011, 03:41:46 AM
I watched a documentary on whale sharks recently and the biggest risk is if they flick a diver with their tail. The boss of the gloss with bitey sharks seems to be a competition between White Pointers and Bull Sharks, both of which DO eat people. An earlier documentary I watched about the New Jersey attacks around WW1 was that they were probably Bull Sharks that performed the attacks, especially as it was in near fresh water upstream with a couple of the attacks. The ones directly off the coast may have been White Pointers.

Best as I can tell these days the best place to swim is in a clean, clear swimming pool, all sorts of other places that used to be safe are now becoming risky with crocs, sharks and if you live in the Amazon basin you have a number of very big hungry fish as well.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: Farabi on September 22, 2011, 04:20:02 AM
What? It was a whale shark? They said that it was a cat fish. Damn, I should not trust any website from indonesia.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: hutch-- on September 22, 2011, 06:31:12 AM
Onan,

In the Amazon they DO have some very big catfish.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: oex on September 22, 2011, 07:48:33 AM
Well I thought it was a catfish....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_giant_catfish

"With recorded sizes of up to 10.5ft (3.2m) and 660lb (300kg), the Mekong's giant catfish currently holds the Guinness Book of World Record's position for the world's largest freshwater fish"

And yes, there are stories of them eating people....
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: ToutEnMasm on September 22, 2011, 03:19:16 PM

Big catfish ?
Silure is another sort of catfish,that I have in my town
http://manu-photos-pentax-k20d.over-blog.com/article-31341096.html
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: xanatose on September 22, 2011, 06:00:55 PM
Maybe you could have "hunting" tourism and make a business of it.
Title: Re: Invasion of the crocodiles.
Post by: OverHertz on September 22, 2011, 06:44:12 PM
better still don't go into their territory..