Loss of riparian areas making crocs aggressive
Published on: Wednesday, August 05, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The estuarine or salt water crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are extremely territorial, one of the reasons for the creatures' attacks on humans. Habitat fragmentation experienced by the species, especially in Sungai Kinabatangan has further aggravated the inherent quality of the apex predator."A man was killed in the middle of a plantation in Kinabatangan and the croc swam with the body of its victim for about two hours to show that it was its territory," said Cardiff University's final year PhD student Luke Evans, who has been researching the crocs for the past six years at the Danau Girang Field Centre at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.
ADVERTISEMENT
Evans was presenting the findings of a study on the effects of habitat fragmentation, in particular the increasing human presence, and its impact on the crocs of the Kinabatangan at The Sabah Society office here on Tuesday.Habitat fragmentation involves the continuous reduction of wildlife habitats, in this case the saltwater crocs, due to oil palm plantations that encroached the crocs' living space. Reportedly, there are also about 124 palm oil mills in the Kinabatangan basin, which process the produce from the rapidly expanding oil palm plantations. The oil is used in the production of margarine, soap, livestock feed, lubricants and many other industrial and household products."We reclaimed some oil palm plantation land in Kinabatangan, as it cuts through within 30m of the riparian area, and replanted about four acres of the forest in 2014," said Evans, adding that he hoped the effort in expanding the canopy cover would entice animals to reuse the area.
ADVERTISEMENT
The frequent sightings of crocodiles reported could be also be a direct effect of the shrinking size of its home, he added. The Malaysian law is against the development of riparian buffers along all rivers and streams up to 30m.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to him, the saltwater crocs, which is the largest crocodilian in the world had been responsible for multiple deaths in Malaysia, with 17 deaths recorded between years 2000-2012, while some deaths went unreported."There is 50 per cent fatality in attacks, with 95 per cent of the victims were in the water," he said. Limiting human-crocodile conflict, which is a growing concern throughout Sabah was part of the research as well.The study involved many aspects including the technology application on wildlife conservation and aims at shedding light on the magnificent animal, which had been declared an endangered species by the Sabah government in 1982. The research also covered nesting assessment, which was done using drones that gathered required data in cost-effective way. Some 24 potential nests had been uncovered within 20,000ha of flights, with three of them being floating nests. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
