Crocodile assassination

[Hoosiersailor]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

This is SOOOO WRONG.

Their original natural habitat has changed. Pretending that it hasn't and you can stop culling a population and they will magically reach a happy equilibrium that people can accept is unrealistic.

If people don't accept it, it doesn't matter if the species survives or what the ecological effects are. If people are worried about their kids getting eaten (reality or not), the answer will be made for you.

Managing them is what avoids the ecological mess and it avoids the knee jerk reactions.

I agree. I can't imagine what it would be like in the Midwest USA if they didn't manage the white tail deer population. Any animal when allowed to breed out of control becomes a nuisance. I would have to imagine that an animal with no natural predators to naturally manage the population would very quickly become a nuisance, a very dangerous nuisance.

The fact of the matter is that humans have become the dominant species and yes we have changed the face of the planet. We have devastated entire species of other animals in the process. I would like to think that as we learn from that, we actually have a responsibility to manage some of these things.

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

I dive on my boat and clean the bottom here in the Clarence River... Northern NSW, even though it's fresh water. We have bull sharks who can live in fresh or salt water and now maybe crocs in a few years. The fresh water stays above the salt water. Good that I'll be dead by then anyway, even if not eaten.

My father was just crewing on a boat for the races around Hayman Island. He was telling me how he was diving to clean the hull at the Airlie Beach marina.



It's the first time I told him off like a child. I'm just glad he lived.

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by Hoosiersailor

I agree. I can't imagine what it would be like in the Midwest USA if they didn't manage the white tail deer population. Any animal when allowed to breed out of control becomes a nuisance. I would have to imagine that an animal with no natural predators to naturally manage the population would very quickly become a nuisance, a very dangerous nuisance.

The fact of the matter is that humans have become the dominant species and yes we have changed the face of the planet. We have devastated entire species of other animals in the process. I would like to think that as we learn from that, we actually have a responsibility to manage some of these things.

There are two big differences between saltwater crocs and deer.

Firstly, crocs are at the top of the food chain, which is a lot like a pyramid, so their numbers are naturally smaller. If their numbers become to large, their prey numbers go down and they start to die off. It's kinda nicely balanced. Deer however, if their numbers become too large, they overgraze plants, which play a much more important role for the whole ecosystem in general. Overgrazing can significantly damage the environment.

Also maturity times are vastly different. Deer take a year to reach maturity, while salties take 15 or so years. Kill 20% of all deer every year and their numbers will be fine. Without predators, its a good way of avoiding overpopulation. Do the same with crocs and they will be critically endangered in a decade.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Mozzie

There are two big differences between saltwater crocs and deer.

Firstly, crocs are at the top of the food chain, which is a lot like a pyramid, so their numbers are naturally smaller. If their numbers become to large, their prey numbers go down and they start to die off. It's kinda nicely balanced. Deer however, if their numbers become too large, they overgraze plants, which play a much more important role for the whole ecosystem in general. Overgrazing can significantly damage the environment.

Also maturity times are vastly different. Deer take a year to reach maturity, while salties take 15 or so years. Kill 20% of all deer every year and their numbers will be fine. Without predators, its a good way of avoiding overpopulation. Do the same with crocs and they will be critically endangered in a decade.

I wasn't aware the Australian population is falling; the last census suggests it is still rising.

[David M]

Nature will take its course and there will once again be a dominant male. Some journalist needs to stop being a drama queen about this.