Crocodile Attack in Kakadu

[JPA Cate]

I thought some of you might be interested in this, from this morning's news. No fatalities, for which we can be grateful. I wonder if terror lengthened the estimate of the croc's size? 5 m. is a huge beast!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-...kadu/100105532

[Knotical]

Scary. The article says they were cooking dinner when the croc attacked, I wonder what they were making that attracted the beast.

We saw an 18’ croc in Costa Rica, their lunge speed is very fast, especially when they see food. To see a giant creature like that jump out of the water is just amazing, and very scary, makes us feel very small.

Good thing there was no fatality in that incident.

[boatman61]

That's what you get when you start a trend.. others learn..

https://youtu.be/NR7Vz2r9KD0

[Knotical]

This is not the biggest we saw but it gives you an idea of the scale.

[Jim Cate]

OOhhh what a GREAT idea: associating humans with food! To say nothing of tourist boats that dangle chooks from a fishing rod to teach crocks to leap high from the water to capture a tasty bit alongside a boat. How cool...

Jim

[Dsanduril]

Isn't that just about exactly how Captain Hook got his name?

[AndyEss]

There are saltwater crocs in Costa Rica? Please tell me at least their range is only on the Carribean side.
Or else I need to start re-thinking a possible cruise.

[Bunji]

Up to 5 metres absolutely, there are many crocs in that 4.5 to 5 metre length in the territories major river systems. We were fishing that particular river 2 weeks before and saw 3 of them in that range. Only last month they pulled a 4.5 m out of Darwin harbour (west arm)

[Knotical]

We saw them in river Tarcoles (Pacific side) but they can be found in salt water too.

Originally Posted by AndyEss

There are saltwater crocs in Costa Rica? Please tell me at least their range is only on the Carribean side.
Or else I need to start re-thinking a possible cruise.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Bunji

Up to 5 metres absolutely, there are many crocs in that 4.5 to 5 metre length in the territories major river systems. We were fishing that particular river 2 weeks before and saw 3 of them in that range. Only last month they pulled a 4.5 m out of Darwin harbour (west arm)

And folks asked me why I did not swim in Oz..
I was anchored there for a week.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Knotical

We saw them in river Tarcoles (Pacific side) but they can be found in salt water too.

I’ve seen them there too... not sure of the species... don’t take any strolls by the rivers

But really more importantly,
Doesn’t anyone know how to spell “gunwales?”

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Knotical

This is not the biggest we saw but it gives you an idea of the scale.

I think that is an alligator or masybe a Cayman, not a croc

[jdazey]

Originally Posted by AndyEss

There are saltwater crocs in Costa Rica? Please tell me at least their range is only on the Carribean side.
Or else I need to start re-thinking a possible cruise.

Sure. We saw lots of them in Golfito and Puntarenas. We were anchored off of Banana Bay marina in Golfito. It was hot, and Sue was just about to dive in when an 8'er swam by. Sue changed her plans!


I heard somewhere that the Central American crocs aren't as agressive as the Aussie crocs. The guys helping launch boats in Puntarenas didn't seem worried about them.



Cheers,

[Factor]

Although they appear similar, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological families. The gharial, with its narrow snout, is easier to distinguish, while morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious external differences are visible in the head, with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators and caimans. Another obvious trait is that the upper and lower jaws of the crocodiles are the same width, and the teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; therefore, all teeth are visible, unlike an alligator, which possesses in the upper jaw small depressions into which the lower teeth fit. Also, when the crocodile's mouth is closed, the large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a constriction in the upper jaw. For hard-to-distinguish specimens, the protruding tooth is the most reliable feature to define the species' family.[1] Crocodiles have more webbing on the toes of the hind feet and can better tolerate saltwater due to specialized salt glands for filtering out salt, which are present, but non-functioning, in alligators. Another trait that separates crocodiles from other crocodilians is their much higher levels of aggression.[2]
Wikipedia.

Crocs in Australia are Crocodylus Johnstonii (so called freshwater) and Crocodylus Porosus (so called Saltwater). Salties are huge and nasty.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Doesn’t anyone know how to spell “gunwales?”

Gunnel has been used in print in English since at least 1727, to represent the usual nautical pronunciation of the word.

The 1727 citation in Oxford English Dictionary reads: "as high as the Gun-wall or Gunnel."

One of the usual 'principles' to which people turn is whether orthography represents pronunciation or etymology. Or both.

Those pushing for reform of English spelling argue (including Noah Webster) that actual pronounced usage should be reflected in orthography. That raises the question: why is the language not called Inglish?

Those pushing for etymology seem to have affection for the orthography (or presumed orthography) of the word when imported into English. That raises the question: why is the language not called Ænglish?

The first usage of what became gunwale looks to be 1466 gonne walles, referring to the topmost hull planks supporting the barrels of a ship's great guns.

The history of the word gun is itself a ball of fun. First use in England appears in 1330, used for the name of a jolly big ballista mounted on the wall of a fort or castle originally built by William the Bastard (aka the Conqueror) a day's march out of London. That castle is now called Windsor, apparently after a forest.

The jolly big ballista was affectionately called Domina Gunilda, or in Ænglish "Lady Gunnhilda".

I've not seen anyone explain why the ballista was called after Gunilda or who she might have been (Gunnhildr is a calling name, representing Old Norse gunnr, meaning war; and Old Norse hildr, meaning battle).

Sixty years after the appearance of that jolly big ballista, cannon (the tubular things using the Chinese invention of gunpowder to expel ball or shot) were called Grete gonnes, great guns.