Hunt for croc in drain

KOTA KINABALU: A crocodile was recently spotted in the monsoon drain near the Rainforest Park at Jalan Penampang.
State Wildlife Department chief veterinarian Dr Sen Nathan said wildlife rangers conducted a search at the area and spotted the crocodile, believed to be about three-meter long on Monday.
“We searched the area with a spotlight and saw the crocodile. Once it is caught, we will relocate the crocodile away from the state capital,” he said yesterday.
According to Dr Sen, there were reports of a crocodile being sighted in the monsoon drain near Wisma Khidmat several years ago.
“We are not sure if this is the same animal although it is part of the drainage system that runs along the Rainforest Park,” he said, adding that historically there were crocodiles in rivers running through Kota Kinabalu.
“At the moment, we are uncertain about the origin of this particular animal,” Dr Sen said when asked if it was possible the reptile could have escaped from captivity.
City police meanwhile had not received any report of crocodile attack here in the state capital.
Dr Sen said wildlife rangers had also set a trap in Kota Belud, about 90km from here, to catch a crocodile that attacked a 74-year-old woman in Kampung Tampasuk on April 17.
It was reported that the woman, Luayoh Kindurus, fought off the crocodile with a cane after it bit her feet as she was crossing a drain to a padi field in Kampung Sondikut

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/10/hunt-for-croc-in-drain/#ixzz1utQKK8QV

Photo Source:  http://www.coloring-pages-kids.com/coloring-pages/animal-coloring-pages/crocodiles-coloring-pages/crocodiles-coloring-pages-images/crocodile-aligator-coloring-page-04.php

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Insight into human-crocodile conflicts by satellite tagging

KINABATANGAN: A satellite tagging project has been started, to tag selected male crocodiles in 10 main rivers of Sabah, as part of an on-going project to gain insight into human-crocodile conflicts.

 So far, two Kinabatangan river crocodiles have been tagged by the Sabah Wildlife Department, through its Wildlife Rescue Unit and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), the latest being a 3.6 metre saltwater crocodile named Lais, on January 27.     

 

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said most human-crocodile conflicts involved large males of the species.

 

By tagging these animals, long term seasonal movements can be established, which would then help determine how lack of food may be forcing them to consider humans as a source of protein, he added.     

 

"We plan to focus on 10 main rivers in Sabah and fit satellite tags on the male crocodiles in each of these rivers.  

 

"We will also carry out surveys and collect samples to identify patterns of gene flow between the rivers and also to get an overall picture of fertility within the population," said Goossens who is also leader of the Kinabatangan Crocodile Programme, in a Press release issued today.   

 

The 10 rivers are Klias, Padas, Paitan, Sugud, Labuk, Kinabatangan, Segama, Kalumpang, Kalabakan and Serudon, with emphasis on two rivers with different degrees of human pressure -- the Kinabatangan and Paitan.    

 

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu attributed the recent successful tagging of the crocodile in the Kinabatangan river to both the Wildlife Rescue Unit and DGFC's hard work.   

 

Ambu said the Wildlife Rescue Unit, funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort and Le Meridien Hotel, has been extremely active since its creation.    

 

DGFC Manager Mark Rampangajouw said a camera set up in the cage had allowed the project team to catch good shots of the crocodile as it took the bait and moved into the trap.    

 

The satellite tagging project is currently funded by the Chester Zoo in Chestershire, UK and DGFC. -- BERNAMA

Read more: http://www.nst.com.my/latest/insight-into-human-crocodile-conflicts-via-satellite-tagging-1.42335

Green Sabah says: Crocodiles would normally attack humans when they felt threatened or when the lack of food has driven them to see humans as a source of food. Due to the damages to their natural habitat, pollution of rivers, overfishing and such issues caused by human activities, the coexistence between wildlife and humans are disrupted. Hopefully by using satellite tagging, it can help identify ways to prevent them from attacking humans in the near future.

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