Croc Blog

CrocLog Podcast - Episode 8

2011-12-30T00:10:00.000+09:30

It's time for Episode 8 (the real one) of the CrocLog Podcast, recorded at the end of November so we're pretty much back on schedule.

No interview this time, but instead in this episode Adam talks about his experience in the Philippines measuring Lolong the world's largest crocodile, Brandon describes the outcomes of the La Manzanilla Crocodile Workshop, we discuss recovering populations of crocodiles in South America and elsewhere, and chat about the implications of escaped crocodiles in Thailand. We catch up on the latest crocodile news, attacks, and a couple of recent TV shows.

Below you'll find links to some of the stories that we discuss.

1. Lolong measured as world's largest crocodile:
http://www.pawb.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=480:lolong-holds-world-record-as-largest-croc-in-the-world&catid=22:news&Itemid=131

2. Crocodile populations in North Santander, Colombia:
http://www.elespectador.com/impreso/vivir/articulo-311224-descubren-ciudad-de-los-cocodrilos

3. Escaped crocodiles in Thailand following flooding:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=220&sid=2647679

4. Recovering population in MeinmahlaKyun Wildlife Sanctuary:
http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/602/news60213.html

Enjoy the podcast, and as usual please send any questions or comments you have to us. Please specify if you'd like us to discuss them during the episode. You can also join the discussion at the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 7

2011-12-16T23:46:00.000+09:30

Episode 7 is now ready to be heard. Brandon and I recorded this one back in August while driving from Darwin to Kakadu National Park. We ended up calling it a "roadcast". The sound quality isn't quite as good as normal, but it's quite atmospheric. You'll hear that I refer to this as Episode 8 in the introduction. Please ignore that, it's definitely Episode 7.

Again the news items that we discuss happened back in August, but they are not time-sensitive and the discussion is still relevant. In this episode I interview Brad Bestelink and Andrea Crawford, two wildlife film-makers based in Botswana. Brad and Andy pioneered safe diving techniques with wild Nile crocodiles, as seen in "Into the Dragon's Lair" and their own film "Diving with Crocodiles". Brad and Andy invited me out to investigate this further, and I got a little more than I bargained for! The interview was conducted before I flew back to Australia. Brandon and I discuss diving with crocodiles in some detail, and we also discuss predatory encounters between crocodiles and tigers, other crocodiles, and even buffalo that turn the tables on crocodiles, and of course the inevitable encounters between crocodiles and people.

Here are links to a few of the stories that we discuss during the podcast:

1. Saltwater crocodile kills tiger in Sunderbans:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2340792.ece

2. Crocodile fossils found in cave:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/pictures/110927-crocodile-fossils-found-underwater-cave/

3. Crocodile bites swimmer who swam too close at Berry Springs:
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/27/3278872.htm

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 6

2011-12-09T23:12:00.001+09:30

At long last, we're getting the CrocLog podcast up and running again. We had a bit of a hiatus for the last 6 months, mostly because I've been extremely busy and hardly in Darwin at all, which has made recording and editing podcasts a little difficult.

But now we're going to make up for that. We have not one, nor two, but three podcasts recorded and ready for you to hear. The first two were recorded over the last few months, but neither Brandon nor I had the time to edit them together properly. But no longer! And the third podcast was recorded last week, and contains quite a bit of great info about Lolong the world's largest crocodile. I still have to finish editing that one.

I'm not going to dump them all on you at once. There's only so much you can take of us talking crocs, I reckon, so here's the first one - Episode 6 - to be followed over the next few days by Episodes 7 and 8.

Episode 6 was recorded back in July, so the news items that we discuss are a little out of date, but they're still quite relevant and hopefully amusing in a few cases. The majority of the episode involves a detailed interview with Greg Miles, a former ranger in Kakadu National Park. Greg strongly believes that there are too many saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia and that their populations should be culled. Bear in mind that Greg knows and is passionate about crocodiles. So I was very curious to hear what he had to say. Brandon and I discuss this extensively. We also answer a contributed question about crocodile feeding.

I had to edit Greg's interview down quite a bit, but if you'd like to hear the entire thing you can download that right here.

Here's a list of links to those stories available online that we discuss in the podcast:

1. American crocodile attack not believed to be a crocodile attack:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/fla-wildlife-officials-crocodile-attack-unlikely-1498971.html

2. Crocodiles crossing the Atlantic millions of years ago:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790311001655

3. Crocodilian evolutionary divergence:
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/18/6670188-study-reshuffles-crocodile-family-tree

4. Large saltwater crocodile feeding on sea turtle at the mouth of the Jardine River:

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/05/25/165895_local-news.html

5. Illegal wildlife trade, gharials:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/8552939/Luggage-stuffed-with-431-reptiles-found-in-Bangkok.html

6. Fatal mugger crocodile attacks:

#1 http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/boy-killed-in-alleged-crocodile-attack/719743.html

#2 http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/man-dragged-into-river-by-crocodile-not-traced-yet/716893.html

#3 http://www.newkerala.com/news/2011/worldnews-1503.html

7. Fatal saltwater crocodile attack in Sarawak:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F5%2F24%2Fsarawak%2F8741359&sec=sarawak

8. Dentist bitten by crocodile while fishing:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/9545974/croc-sinks-teeth-into-dentist/

Enjoy the podcast, and as usual please send any questions or comments you have to us. Please specify if you'd like us to discuss them during the episode. You can also join the discussion at the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

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Accurate length measurement for Lolong

2011-11-12T17:51:00.001+09:30

Last Thursday 10 November 2011 at the request of National Geographic and with the consent of local officials I had the opportunity to measure Lolong, potentially the world's largest crocodile. Several news articles are misreporting the correct measurement, so I thought you'd like to hear the correct figure directly from me. I'll post a more detailed report when I'm able to do so, hopefully together with some impressive photos.

Lolong's total length was 6.17 metres, which is 20 feet 3 inches (20.25 feet). As a pure-bred saltwater crocodile, this certainly makes him the largest living crocodile in captivity. This is not an official Guinness record yet, there is a procedure that we have to go through before they can make a final decision, but we have all the required evidence for it. It will be several months before a decision is final.

Sorry Cassius!

I can also report that Lolong is in very good health, and is without doubt the most beautifully impressive crocodile I've ever seen.

-- Adam Britton

You don't want your unique, endemic species anymore?

2011-09-16T09:44:00.000+09:30

This kind of story is tragic and sad, but typical of the problems faced with conservation of crocodiles. The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is considered perhaps the most endangered of all the species, with less than 100 individuals remaining in the wild and considerable pressure on its remaining habitat. Yet there are now estimated to be 7,000 Philippine crocodiles in captivity, more than enough to help replenish wild populations before they disappear forever. The problem is getting permission to release them. It seems nobody in a position to grant this permission wants any Philippine crocodiles released back into the wild, based on unfounded fears that these crocodiles may start to kill people (there has not been a single documented attack by a Philippine crocodile on a human recorded). There has always been confusion in the Philippines between the Philippine crocodile and the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the admittedly rare attacks by the latter species have unfortunately also tarred the reputation of the former.

Yet it should be clear to anyone in the Philippines of the value of crocodiles to their country, on a week after the world's largest saltwater crocodile was captured and placed into captivity for the purposes of tourism and education about crocodiles. Perhaps those same officials who refuse to consider releasing an endemic and unique crocodile, a species that should be a source of national pride for their country (and international derision should it be allowed to disappear forever), should read their own newspapers and realise how important (and valuable) crocodiles can be for a country that is lucky enough to still have them.

AFP: No place for crocodiles in Philippines: official:

'via Blog this'

Nile crocodile is two species : Nature News

2011-09-15T12:24:00.000+09:30

Still waiting for the formal description, but very interesting implications for Nile crocodiles.

Nile crocodile is two species : Nature News:

'via Blog this'

UPDATE: Here's a link to the recently-published paper by Hekkala et al.

A captured beast that reminds us of a remote past

2011-09-11T13:28:00.000+09:30

An article worth reading on that recent saltwater crocodile captured in the Philippines.

A captured beast that reminds us of a remote past | Jonathan Jones | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk:

'via Blog this'

More on the giant Philippine saltwater crocodile

2011-09-07T10:37:00.000+09:30

I've had a look at several photographs of that giant Philippine saltwater crocodile, not to mention a few videos, and I must admit that's probably the largest crocodile I've seen. There's a good chance that this one isn't an exaggeration, although I'd still like to see the measurement and weight independently verified to be certain. I'm so used to reading stories with exaggerated crocodile lengths, that when a genuine enormous crocodile does surface it can be difficult to accept at face value. But from what I've seen, I'd be prepared to believe this one. It's certainly at least 18 feet long, bigger than Cassius, and hopefully it really is 21 feet (6.4 metres). There has been some doubt raised about the weight, but there's so little information on the weights of large crocodiles out that that size extrapolations from existing datasets are likely to be inaccurate for very large crocs.I have a feeling we'll be getting some independent verification soon. I'll keep you posted, but it's pretty exciting to see such a huge crocodile regardless of the actual figure attached to it.

Why so quiet?

2011-09-06T01:34:00.004+09:30

Hi there, my name is Adam! You might remember me from this blog which I used to update more regularly, and the CrocLog Podcast which was going pretty well there for a while. Well the truth is I've had an extremely busy few months, and I've got plenty of cool stories to tell, photos to show you, and videos to share. But right now I'm going away again. Tomorrow in fact, to an isolated island with no internet. However, very cool stuff is going to be happening there which of course I can't tell you about. Yet. My life has suddenly become very mysterious.

Be assured though that I'll be back! Meanwhile, Brandon continues to update the crocodilian.com Facebook page with photos, stories and news reports so check that out for your croc fix. I'll check in at the end of the month hopefully.

In the meantime, I'll just leave you with this very cool picture of Smaug. I'll let you figure out how I took it.

Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines | AP | 09/05/2011

2011-09-06T01:33:00.000+09:30

Most giant crocodile news stories are gross over-exaggerations or media hype, but this one is undoubtedly a large crocodile. Is it really as big as they say though? I'd like to see the actual measurement of course.

Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines | AP | 09/05/2011:

'via Blog this'

NT News strikes again

2011-07-13T23:59:00.004+09:30

[UPDATE] See the comments section below, the NT News is claiming that the original photo is real and the "real" photo of the smaller croc has been faked! That's certainly unusual, as it's normally the larger crocodile that's the exaggeration in stories like this. But thanks guys for responding to this and clearing it up.

Check out this photo and story of a monster crocodile being jumped on the Adelaide River.

Monster croc shock | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au

Impressive, yes? Well actually, it's been manipulated. Here's a comparison of the version that appeared in the NT News [left] and the actual photo [right] (thanks to Brandon Sideleau for finding this).

I've got to hand it to them, it's quite a neat Photoshop job.

But that's not really the point of this post. What I'd like to draw attention to is just how remarkably dangerous these jumping crocodile cruises are becoming. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the principle of showing tourists wild crocodile behaviour when it's done safely and responsibly, especially considering that crocodiles need all the good publicity they can get. Indeed, some of the licensed cruises who've been doing this for years have strict rules about safety. But the above photo is a fine illustration of how not to do it right, and it's certainly not an isolated incident. I've seen what happens when crocs next to boats slam their jaws sideways into the railings or gunnels. All it takes is for someone to be leaning over the edge like this photographer is doing, or simply to be resting their hand or arm on the top of the railing, and if the croc decides not to play nice then a tourist who doesn't appreciate what these animals are capable of is going to lose more than their pride. If that happens then the Adelaide River's famous jumping crocodiles will very likely become a thing of the past.

The croc man Elton Waina's creed: to kill and protect | The Australian

2011-05-29T14:25:00.000+09:30

This is an interesting story concerning the balance between Traditional values and conservation in northern Australia. It's worth a read because conservation is a complex beast and thinking outside the box is often required.

The croc man Elton Waina's creed: to kill and protect | The Australian

Nature at work: Crocodile snacks on turtle in Cape York river- Local Cairns News | cairns.com.au

2011-05-26T16:41:00.000+09:30

Fascinating photos of a saltwater crocodile eating a sea turtle in Cape York. We've seen plenty of evidence of crocodiles stalking nesting turtles on coastal islands and other nesting beaches before, but it's great to see it in action.

Nature at work: Crocodile snacks on turtle in Cape York river- Local Cairns News | cairns.com.au

CrocLog Podcast - Episode 5

2011-05-09T11:08:00.003+09:30

After a slightly longer than anticipated interval, the fifth episode of the CrocLog podcast is now available. To make up for it, this is the longest episode yet. By 6 minutes. Ok, that's not a great incentive, but the real reason you should listen is because it's a great episode and there's a special croc-related offer hidden in there somewhere.

I'm joined again by Brandon Sideleau, a wildlife photographer based in California, for a discussion of the latest crocodile news and television shows. There's a great interview with John Brueggen, the Director of the St Augustine Alligator Farm in Florida, plus the usual mix of crocodile news, science and TV show discussion.

Here's a list of links to those stories available online that we discuss in the podcast:

1. First Indian gharial breeding in US
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-04-14/big-day-endangered-croc

2. Bhirtikanika crocodile deaths
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-29/bhubaneswar/28355954_1_bhitarkanika-national-park-crocodile-forest-officials

3. Crocodile poaching claims in Australia
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201104/s3195437.htm

4. Mugger crocodile attack in India
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/woman-killed-by-crocodiles/652185.html

5. Suicide by crocodile
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378046/David-Lubisi-40-commits-suicide-crocodile-fight-girlfriend.html

6. First American crocodile attack in Florida
http://www.keysnet.com/2011/04/29/334454/american-crocodile-apparently.html

7. Diving with Crocodiles
http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/show.do?show=137795

8. St Augustine Alligator Farm
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/

Enjoy the podcast, and as usual please send any questions or comments you have to us. If you have a specific croc question you'd like us to address, please let us know in the comments here. You can also join the discussion on the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

Direct link / Download

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 4

2011-03-22T15:46:00.003+09:30

The fourth episode of the CrocLog podcast is now available. My internet connection is still best described as "flaky". I had to glue a few pieces of the discussion back together after Skype disconnected us several times, but it all worked out in the end.

I'm joined as usual by Brandon Sideleau, a wildlife photographer based in California, for a discussion of the latest crocodile news and television shows. Brandon also conducted a great interview with Cherie and Vince Rose of ACES (American Crocodile Education Sanctuary) where they discuss the difficulties and dangers of the crocodile education and management work they conduct in Belize. I'm very keen to hear more from Cherie and Vince on the work they're doing down there, and I'll try and chase them down for another interview on this blog at some point.

Here's a list of links to all the stories we discuss in the podcast:

1. Bhitarkanika Population Rebound
http://news.oneindia.in/2011/01/16/numberof-estuarine-crocodiles-in-bhitarkanikaincreases-aid0126.html

2. Alligator Guarding Drugs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110313/lf_ac/8049518_fourfootlong_alligator_guards_california_drug_stash_1

3. Caiman Guarding Drugs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110104/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_puerto_rico_guard_caiman

4. Frozen Dwarf Crocodile
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/225258-Olsztyn-Poland-The-mysterious-case-of-frozen-crocodile

5. Cell Phone Croc
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/21/cell-phone-rings-in-crocodiles-tummy-at-ukrainian-aquarium/

6. Attack in Brunei
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_642715.html

7. Tom Bairstow Attack
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/03/10/153575_local-news.html

8. Edie Sigai Attack
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/06/3131042.htm?section=justin

9. 14 year old Arnhem Land boy
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/856124-crocodile-kills-14-year-old-boy-after-attack-in-northern-australia

10. Fatal Attractions Crocodile
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/fatal-attractions-my-pet-crocodile.html

11. ACES Primary Link
http://www.americancrocodilesanctuary.org/

Enjoy the podcast, and of course please send any questions or comments you have to us. If you have a specific croc question you'd like us to address, please let us know in the comments here. You can also join the discussion on the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

Direct link / Download

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 3

2011-02-25T10:57:00.002+09:30

At last, here's Episode 3 of the CrocLog Podcast. Why so late? Well unfortunately we got hit by Cyclone Carlos recently and, while it wasn't any great shakes in the grand scheme of things, it did drop a record amount of rain on Darwin. We ended up with a lot of flooding around the place, trees down, power lines and telephone services interrupted etc. We finally have our phones back, but the internet is still highly unreliable. But adversity breeds determination, and it's finally uploaded.

So I'm joined again by Brandon Sideleau, a wildlife photographer based in California, and I interview Rod King who's head Thamarrurr ranger at Wadeye about crocodile egg collection training. Brandon and I discuss recent crocodile news, including some good news for the gharial, we chat about vegetarian crocodiles (no, really) and Brandon reviews a couple of recent documentaries.

Don't forget if you have any questions about the podcast, anything you'd like us to answer in future episodes, or just any general comments about it please let us know in the comments here. You can also join the discussion on the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

I can't easily link to story from this podcast due to my internet problems, sorry about that, but we'll get right back onto that next time.

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 2

2010-12-11T16:32:00.005+09:30

After the modest success of the first CrocLog Podcast, we're here with a second one. Unfortunately it's a little late due to a bout of some nasty virus preventing me from finishing it off. So the references to the two documentaries are a little out of date, although they're still being repeated regularly and you'll find them on the schedules.

I'm joined again by Brandon Sideleau, a wildlife photographer based in California. This time I interview Tom Nichols, a ranger in the crocodile management unit working for the NT Government. Tom talks about his job, and the issue of crocodile safety around a major city, which Brandon and I then discuss at some length. We also catch up on the latest crocodile news, some of it serious and some of it not so serious, discuss the National Geographic documentary Crocodile King, and answer a question that was posted on the discussion page.

Don't forget if you have any questions about the podcast, anything you'd like us to answer in future episodes, or just any general comments about it please let us know in the comments here. You can also join the discussion on the Crocodilian.com Facebook page.

Stories discussed in the podcast can be found here:
1. Conjoined crocodiles?
2. Mugger attack
3. Steve Backshall attack
4. Croc vs adult elephant
5. Croc vs baby elephant
6. Cat vs alligator

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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 1

2010-11-15T17:19:00.010+09:30

Prepare yourself, because we've just launched the new crocodilian.com podcast, CrocLog. You thought it would never happen, or you never imagined that it would, but the ball is rolling.

I'm joined by Brandon Sideleau, a wildlife photographer based in California whose name I cannot pronounce, and we have a good chat about crocodiles, alligators and their toothy ilk. Brandon interviews Florida croc guru Joe Wasilewski, we discuss a couple of recent crocodile attacks, and we talk about some fascinating croc science that highlights the similarities between crocodiles and birds. We even speculate on whether the film-makers in the forthcoming Animal Planet documentary Into the Dragon's Lair get eaten or not.

Come and join us, because frankly nobody else is podcasting about crocodiles. It's our first podcast so go easy on us, but we think you'll like it. We're aiming this at a broad audience, so we'll happily talk science (although we promise to make it listenable), natural history, conservation or anything else interesting. We're also hoping it's going to be fun.

If you have any questions about the podcast, anything you'd like us to answer in future episodes, or just any general comments about it please let us know in the comments here. Alternatively, head over shortly to the official Crocodilian.com Facebook page (coming real soon now!) where you can join the discussion.

Expect a new podcast every couple of weeks or so, depending on our schedule.

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Malcolm Douglas

2010-09-26T14:26:00.003+09:30

Of all the characters who work with crocodiles in Australia, Malcolm Douglas was that rare person who not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. Long before anyone had heard of the "Crocodile Hunter", Malcolm was out there fighting passionately for the animals and bush he believed in. I only met Malcolm once in Broome at his Crocodile Park but it was a memorable trip. He was one of those people who really understood crocodiles, and his passion for them was obvious. What he didn't know about the bush probably wasn't worth knowing, and his numerous documentaries and series are still captivating.

Malcolm was tragically killed last Wednesday on a dirt road in his new Wilderness Park. But his status as legend is undiminished. Just take a look at this:

Australia's "monster" crocodile

2010-08-08T01:09:00.006+09:30

This photograph has been doing the rounds lately. It purportedly shows a giant 6.5 metre (22 foot) saltwater crocodile that was shot in... well, there's the rub. There seems to be some disagreement about whether it was shot in Queensland, or the Northern Territory, and therefore who owns Australia's largest (dead) crocodile. This disagreement has spilled over into the international media, all of whom love a good story about giant crocodiles.

There's only one problem with all this. That crocodile is certainly not 6.5 metres long. Not even close. If you ask me, it's probably a little over 5 metres long. How do I know this? Well, all the clues are in the photo. First of all, that truck (a Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 series station wagon) is roughly the same length as the crocodile, give or take. It's hard to tell because the back of the crocodile's tail isn't in the shot. So how long is that truck? It's around 4.7 metres. Secondly, the photograph uses all the classic perspective tricks to fool the eye into emphasising the size of the crocodile - low to the ground, wide-angle lens, small child in the foreground, truck in the background (the distance could be several metres, further exaggerating the size of the crocodile). And if that wasn't enough, the crocodile is clearly starting to bloat from decomposition, making it look even larger. So if you add all this up, look at the size of the truck and where the crocodile is positioned in relation to it, considering how much of its tail is missing, it can't be much more than 5 metres long. That's around 17 feet at best. That's certainly a very impressive, very large crocodile, but it's nowhere near the size they're claiming, and it's certainly not the largest croc ever found in Australia.

Whoever wants this crocodile can have it. Not only is it not particularly noteworthy, it's probably a bit on the nose by now judging from the age of the photograph.

Croc Attack

2010-08-07T11:14:00.005+09:30

This is what Erin and I had to go through as part of our latest television show which airs this weekend on Discovery Channel. The blue Avatar suits are to protect us from deadly box jellyfish while carrying a saltwater crocodile, which sounds more dangerous on paper than it actually was.

The show is called "Croc Attack" which, amazingly enough, has never actually been used as the title for a TV show about crocodiles before. For some reason which I can't quite put my finger on, it's airing as part of Shark Week. Hey, if you don't tell anyone, I won't either, ok?

It's on at 9pm ET/PT Saturday 7th August, 12am ET/PT Sunday 8th August and 6pm ET/PT Sunday 8th August.

If enough people watch the show, and I hope you all do, we'll get to do more! It's our quest to get a bit more science and interesting stories in crocodile documentaries, which you know is the right way to go. If you're on the fence about it, bear in mind it features Smaug at 1,000 frames per second. He looks great at that frame rate.

Psychic crocodile

2010-07-10T19:34:00.004+09:30

Well, if I'm going to get this blog rolling again, why not start with a crazy, cash-in story?! I'm sure most people are aware by now of Paul the "psychic" octopus who has an unbroken record of accurately predicting the matches that Germany won and lost during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Well, Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin has clearly decided to ride the wave of anticipation over Paul's latest prediction that Spain will win the World Cup final by doing their own prediction... with a large saltwater crocodile.

And who did "Harry" the crocodile pick? Well you should click the link and watch the video to see the action as it happened, but let's just say that the animal kingdom's reputation is at stake here!

I'm sure normal programming will be resumed shortly.

(photo courtesy NT News)

Coming out of hibernation

2010-05-22T19:03:00.004+09:30

Or rather aestivation, given that it's been the wet season for the last several months. Being the wet season, crocs are at their most active. While this has correlated to this blog being least active, that's because we've been out there chasing them around for various reasons and projects. I'll be talking about some of these in some upcoming blog posts, plus sharing some more thoughts on interesting croc-related matters.

But first, there is the small matter of getting some sleep and recovering!

Sad news

2010-02-15T09:48:00.002+09:30

Unfortunately I just learned that John Thorbjarnarson died suddenly yesterday morning while in Delhi. John, even before his long association with the Wildlife Conservation Society, has been involved in the Crocodile Specialist Group and in the conservation and research of crocodilians for many years. It's sad news and quite a shock. John possessed a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy and enthusiasm for crocs, involved as he was in so many different conservation projects around the world. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind and put forward the best interests of crocodilians and those working with them. There's no doubt he made a huge impact in croc conservation, and it won't be the same without him.

Sincere condolences to his family.

Managing Freshwater Crocodiles

2010-01-09T13:34:00.004+09:30

The NT Government has released its new Draft Management Program for the Freshwater Crocodile which you can now download, read and - if you're so inclined - comment upon (full draft / summary). For those of you overseas, this concerns the Australian Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni), Australia's other crocodile that is frequently overlooked and/or ignored by the general population. However, freshies are extremely cool critters. There's some concern about changes in their population density these days, but frankly I need a whole other blog post just to talk about it. So, don't go too far...

Are Freshwater Crocodiles Going Extinct?

2010-01-09T13:17:00.006+09:30

Barely a week into 2010 and already the crazy crocodile stories are starting to appear. This one concerns the possible decline of freshwater crocodiles at the hands of expanding saltwater crocodile populations. The story itself is clearly prompted by the release of the revised management plan which contains a graph showing the apparent decline in freshwater crocodiles detected during surveys of the Daly River.

I'm not sure that I'd be leaping to such conclusions based on the findings of one river system's survey results just yet, especially considering the variability inherent in survey results. There's no information in the report, for example, to assess the impact that changing the survey methodology in 1998 (the first year of the apparent decline) had on the results. It's a good point to bear in mind when assessing croc survey data.

But I digress. Let's say that the decline is real (and I suspect it probably is). The news article implies that this is a real problem for freshwater crocodiles, with one noted expert even suggesting that freshwater crocodiles might be "on the way out". That sounds pretty dramatic! However, I think the point is being missed because there's a very reasonable explanation behind it. When saltwater crocodile populations were protected in 1971 (in the Northern Territory) there were only a few thousand left hiding in backwater swamps and creeks. Early crocodile surveys conducted by Harry Messel from the University of Sydney found that freshwater crocodiles had moved a long way downstream. There were even some freshwater crocs found in estuarine areas. This told us two things: first, that "freshwater" crocodiles are much more tolerant of saline water than their name implies, and secondly that freshwater crocodile populations are largely restricted to upstream areas by saltwater crocodiles. Take those saltwater crocodiles away, and freshies are free to move a lot further downstream.

You can probably see where this is going. Since saltwater crocodiles have recovered in the last few decades, they have progressively reclaimed territory that was formerly "theirs". Freshwater crocodiles have been pushed back into their more usual haunts: upstream freshwater and low escarpment habitat. So it's really not surprising to find that in the last decade, this trend has continued with densities declining in more downstream areas as saltwater crocodile populations mature and their size demographic becomes increasingly biased towards larger adults. Suddenly those Daly River results don't seem so surprising.

In straightforward terms, freshies have had it too good for too long! If there's one thing we know about crocodiles, it's that they are opportunists. We know they're happy to disregard notions of territory if there's plenty of food around, and we know that most species will range into less suitable habitat even if it means not growing so quickly or being able to breed. Being long-lived gives you a bit of flexibility with such things. Species are also frequently sympatric (sharing the same habitat) in areas where there's plenty of food and space. The Daly River is one example, but there are plenty of others where it would be very informative to see if similar trends exist. Unfortunately freshwater crocodiles haven't really been a management priority in the last decade and a lot of these trends have been lost. Perhaps the decline in the Daly River reflects a reduction in available food for both species? It certainly warrants further investigation.

These dynamic interactions between saltwater and freshwater crocodiles make even more sense when you consider recent fossil evidence showing that freshies very likely evolved from salties. Resources and habitat partitioning led to speciation in the ancestors of saltwater crocodiles, and freshwater crocodiles became perhaps better suited to the more extreme habitat conditions where food and nesting resources are less readily available. Populations are very dynamic concepts, and that includes their genetics.

So are freshies really on the way out? They're reverting to a familiar relationship that they've shared with saltwater crocodiles for thousands of years, where healthy saltie populations deny access to most downstream areas. That in itself wouldn't be a worry if other conditions remained as they were. However, since then cane toads have devastated freshwater crocodile populations in many areas. Could the combined onslaught of saltwater crocodiles and cane toads lead to the disappearance of freshwater crocodiles? Some people might think so, but I have more faith in this species' tenacity. They've already proven capable of thriving in some pretty unlikely habitats (dry, seasonally flooded, upstream escarpment) and they've largely survived the cane toad onslaught albeit in reduced numbers. Even now, they are adapting to new circumstances as they have done for millions of years. The question is, can they adapt quickly enough if anything else is thrown at them. What about climate change? What about the most vulnerable and possibly unique "pygmy" populations? Although I doubt we'll be seeing the last of freshwater crocodiles anytime soon, we're not making life easy for them.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T22:59:00.005+09:30

Ok, everyone's doing it! But it's that time of year when December 25th rolls around again. Has it really been a year? Wow. So for those that celebrate Christmas, have a great time, and for those that don't, have a great time anyway. We're taking a bit of a break but we'll be back next year with more crocodile posts and the occasional crazy story.

When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs

2009-11-21T14:20:00.006+09:30

Some people get quite upset over the notion that dinosaurs might have been eaten by "crocs" (or more accurately, crocodyliforms - extinct ancestors of modern crocodiles) but it's true, they certainly were. In fact, the crocodyliform group was arguably as diverse and successful as the dinosaurs were in their day. You might even argue that modern crocs have lost out big time compared with those modern dinosaurs, the birds, but in fact they've simply consolidated what they're good at into 23 very successful species... even though some are doing better than others. Although modern crocodylians are doing a lot of things right, they're not as diverse as they once were. If you're not convinced you should check out National Geographic's new show called, provocatively enough, When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs. It premiere's tonight, but you can find the full listings for when it's on in your area at National Geographic's website (in the US, it's on Saturday 21 November at 9pm EST).

While I'm not entirely sure that the names will go down in historical infamy, Paul Sereno will introduce you such marvellous creatures as Dog Croc, Boar Croc (pictured) and even Pancake Croc. That's right, Pancake Croc. While I doubt Paul is suggesting that it dined with the assistance of maple syrup, it certainly had a very bizarre skull. We hosted Paul here in Darwin, and introduced him to some remarkable things that modern crocs can do. Watch the show and be awed by what has gone before, and what we still have.

CrocWatch

2009-10-10T10:35:00.005+09:30

We've just set up the website for CrocWatch, which is a community-based crocodile education and awareness initiative. It's all non-profit, linked to FrogWatch (hence the name), and still a work in progress as we put any available time into expanding it.

The goal with CrocWatch is to get better information about crocodiles to the community in northern Australia, both in terms of understanding crocodiles better and also in terms of safety issues. While it has an Australian focus, the issues it presents are global in nature: how to engage communities with crocodiles, increase knowledge about crocodiles, increase respect for crocodiles, and increase safety and awareness of crocodiles in a realistic manner.

So come and visit the website at http://www.crocwatch.org and see what you think. Feel free to register and participate in the forums too.

Crocodile myths #1 - the curious trochilus

2009-09-06T10:53:00.009+09:30

I intend to make this a continuing series of articles, at least until I run out of crocodile myths to discuss. There are, as you might infer, no shortage of wild and wonderful myths associated with crocodiles (and alligators). Many of these seem to originate with the Greek philosopher Herodotus, and if he were still around I'd have a bone to pick with him. Whether he was misinterpreting crocodile natural history, or whether he was simply making stuff up is hard to say, but his influence has reached across the millennia.

One of the most popular myths is that of "trochilus" as Herodotus, and later Aristotle and Pliny, call it. This is supposed to be an Egyptian bird that flies into the mouth of a basking crocodile and feeds on scraps of food and leeches attached to the jawline and tongue. Herodotus describes it as follows: "...for the crocodile, when he leaves the water and comes out upon the land, is in the habit of lying with his mouth wide open, facing the western breeze: at such times the trochilus goes into his mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits the crocodile, who is pleased, and takes care not to hurt the trochilus." Many have attributed this behaviour to the Egyptian plover (Pluvianus aegyptius) which is a very common bird often seen around basking Nile crocodiles, although there's no proof that this is what Herodotus was referring to.

This description of a bird that cleans the teeth of crocodiles has undoubtedly entered popular culture, so much so that crocodiles are often used by advertising agencies to promote dental hygiene. But is it true? Do plovers or indeed any other birds actually clean the teeth of crocodiles?

I'll begin my answer with the opinion that I don't believe a word of it. However, there's more to this story than just a simple yes or no. First off, there's no evidence anywhere in photographs or film to show birds cleaning crocodile teeth or ripping leeches from their tongue (with the exception of that particularly clever digital fake you see above; click on it for the full version) and no published reports of it in peer-reviewed literature. I'd have thought a mutual relationship of this kind would have been easily observed by now. Secondly, contrary to popular belief crocodiles do not need their teeth cleaning. They regularly shed their teeth and replace them with new ones: each visible tooth has a solid tip but a hollow base and inside this base, like a set of formidable Russian dolls, are smaller teeth waiting to emerge. Tooth decay, broken teeth and staining are never a permanent problem for a crocodile. Thirdly, food simply cannot get stuck between their teeth - they are too widely spaced for food particles to get jammed in there, and they are regularly washed with water every time the crocodile slides off the bank. While bacteria and microscopic particles can indeed become prevalent around the base of the teeth, these are not problems that are going to be solved by the pecking of a bird large or small. Leeches are another matter, and crocodiles certainly suffer from these insidious passengers. It's generally thought that gaping the mouth during the day helps a crocodile to dry its mouth and hence discourage leeches, but do birds also help out? If they do, it hasn't been documented as such.

So what's going on? Am I just a born skeptic? Perhaps I am, but that doesn't mean there isn't something in this compelling relationship. Birds of various species are often found feeding in close proximity to crocodiles, and immobile crocodiles basking on the bank in the sun are rarely if ever concerned about birds wandering between them, standing on their back, or straying close to their jaws. Birds are opportunists too, and they will feed on flies and other insects on and around crocodiles. It may even appear that they are removing flies from the crocodile's jaws on occasion. But extrapolating this into a mutual relationship between crocodile and bird is going a bit far. Crocodiles hardly benefit from the presence of the birds, and yet they tolerate their presence because it's just not worth chasing them. Crocodiles aren't always in the mood for feeding, and they're smart enough to let difficult to catch prey like alert birds pass them by.

So if you ask me, the crocodile bird exists in name only. There is no mutual relationship between them, as none has ever been seriously documented, no advantage would be gained by the crocodile, and the hypothesis just doesn't add up. Of course, I like to think that I'll reconsider anything based on actual evidence. I wait in hope.

Crocs on a plane

2009-08-07T06:15:00.004+09:30

Oh no, I didn't just use that headline did I? It had to happen of course, someone released a crocodile on a commercial airliner. Passengers screamed as a huge crocodile scuttled down the aisle. Hold on a second, it was actually just a hatchling, less than a foot long. Hatchling crocodiles look more like geckos, so there's really not much of a story here other than the opportunity to riff on an old meme. Still, you'd be surprised at how often this happens, crocodiles escaping during flights that is. One of my colleagues told me a story of something similar several years ago, and in that case he was able to grab the crocodile as it wandered out from under his seat. Of course, the wider implications of this story are the prevalence of smuggling exotic wildlife - highly valuable contraband. They often say that nature will find a way. Well, when it comes to valuable resources, people will also find a way. Of course, you don't find people smuggling large adults on commercial flights - they don't fit so easily into your flight bag.

As you might imagine, nobody on either flight described above claimed their crocodile.

Swimming with Crocodiles

2009-07-30T18:53:00.004+09:30

There's been a bit of controversy recently around Darwin on the question of life guards (for our American readers, we're talking about people not personal flotating devices). It concerned whether or not funding should be provided to the Darwin Surf Life Savers for a life guard to patrol the popular Mindil Beach during the dry season, when there are plenty of tourists and locals alike who are looking to enjoy the sun, the sand and the surf. Why should this be a problem, you might ask? Well, one of them is whether or not the presence of a life guard effectively endorses swimming in the water that might be home to crocodiles, jellyfish, stingrays, sharks, sunburnt Poms and other nefarious creatures. One of these creatures always sets alarm bells ringing, and it's not the Poms.

Various interviews were conducted by the media, would you go swimming on the beach where more and more crocodiles are being spotted? And let's not mention the box jellyfish that, while generally restricted to the wet season, can occasionally be found in small numbers during the dry.

My opinion is that the point is being missed here. From 2006 to 2007 over 270 people died in Australia from drowning, and although this was reduced in the following year it still represented an alarming number of deaths that should have been avoided. In contrast, the number of crocodile-related fatalities in that period can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and none have ever occurred on or near the beaches of Darwin which are part of a no tolerance crocodile exclusion zone. While it is true that more crocodiles are moving around the coast than ever before, and while we are doing everything we can to increase crocodile safety and increase awareness of crocodiles, there has to be a point where it's all put into perspective. Even driving to the beach is considerably more dangerous than the remote chance of being attacked by a crocodile there.

People need information about crocodiles so they can make their own informed choices about safety. Having Life Savers on the beach is mainly about addressing drowning deaths, and that is a good thing. People won't stop swimming just because you don't have a life guard on duty, but the presence of one will greatly reduce risk. Do we really want to head down the slippery slope of banning any activity that has a remote chance of ending badly? Should we just stay at home and not get out of bed to maximise our chances of living another day? I don't think so... unless of course we are concerned about the possibility of a tree falling on the house. Life is indeed full of risks - where do we draw the line?

Saltwater crocodile safari hunting

2009-04-16T23:55:00.005+09:30

Yesterday (Wednesday 15 April 2009) the Northern Territory Government unveiled its Draft Management Program for Saltwater Crocodiles in the Northern Territory 2009-13 (you can read it right here). Despite all the recent concerns about crocodile safety issues and changes in management, the one thing that has dominated the news about this new plan is the issue of safari hunting. There's nothing like the idea of people blowing large holes in native wildlife to stir the pot!

But hold on a second, you might wonder, didn't we stop doing that to saltwater crocodiles back in 1971? Well yes, and no. You see, the whole issue about safari hunting has become lost in media spin about gun totin' rednecks, hunters who can't shoot straight and the spectre of croc populations going down the gurgler. What's the real issue here?

The proposal, for that's all it is at this stage, is to implement an experimental harvest of 25 adult crocodiles greater than 3.5 metres in length. That means that breeding females are excluded, and that only adult males can be removed. Considering that 25 adults is an insignificant percentage of the crocodile population here (estimated to be around 80,000 not including hatchlings, and growing) there's no reasonable argument that the number being considered is harmful. What about the effects on population structure? That's a little more uncertain, particularly as it's known that in some areas the very largest crocodiles have a significant role to play in the social structure of less dominant crocodiles in the system. The implications of removing these big "boss crocodiles" isn't fully understood and certainly warrants further investigation.

The big advantage of the safari hunt, however, will be benefits to indigenous traditional landowners and communities - they own the vast majority of land in the Northern Territory for a start, and therefore they own most of the crocodiles here. Most of that land has very little potential to earn income for indigenous communities, but a limited safari hunt where professional hunters pay big bucks to shoot a handful of crocodiles in areas that few people visit would certainly be of great benefit to those communities and landowners. Traditional owners need more options on how to manage their wild resources, and how to make an income from the resources they own, and a safari hunt of crocodiles would give them that.

Sensible management strategies that bring benefits to communities and give them further reasons to value and properly manage their crocodile populations are a good thing. I do have some reservations about the details, about the impacts on large crocodiles, and about the potential loss of very big, rare animals to the Northern Territory (which, let's face it, are what any safari hunter will be after). I think those extremely rare, 18 foot plus saltwater crocodiles are priceless. Zoos overseas have offered 7 figure sums for such animals in the past (at least they did before the economic downturn!) so I hope that traditional owners can be made aware of the value of these exceptionally large animals so they can make an informed decision on how to manage them.

Of course, there are those who oppose safari hunting without exception. They won't even entertain the idea of any management strategy that involves killing a crocodile. I have to wonder whether those people are putting their personal beliefs and feelings ahead of what's best for crocodile conservation. Their feelings are really of no consequence compared with the importance of getting management right for crocodiles. One thing is clear about crocodile conservation: unless you work with the people who live around crocodiles, you will never get them to trust you or to listen to you. Get people on your side, consider what they need to get out of crocodile management, and you might make some progress.

Crocs and shoes

2009-03-31T23:12:00.005+09:30

What is it about crocs and shoes? There's a certain uneasy relationship there. Crocs often end up on shoes (or at least their skin does), crocs lend their name to shoes (although there are some that would disagree that they were shoes) and now a well-known fashion brand has decided to celebrate its association with crocs by launching... well, a new set of shoes. They've also put together a rather neat little website celebrating crocodile myths around the world. It's light on content but high on style, and certainly worth a look. It looks like they've taken some of their species facts straight from Wikipedia (not a good omen), and it contains some of the worse proof reading I've ever seen, so don't take it all too seriously.

It's interesting, though, that while many people tend to regard live crocodiles with a great deal of suspicion, the iconographic crocodile is often depicted in a far better light. Many crocodile logos depict cartoony, jolly creatures more likely to dazzle you with their smiles than bite your arm off. Some logos are used in a more traditional sense to represent adventure and the hint of danger. And some are used to emphasise positive traits about crocodiles, such as strength, or stealth, or resilience. The fashion house we're talking above above, Lacoste, has been using the crocodile symbol since 1927 (or so we are told) since Rene Lacoste was compared to a crocodile (for its tenacity) after losing a game of golf. They're quite proud of their logo, considering the lengths they've gone to in the past to stop anyone from trying to use similar logos (although they probably took it a bit far trying to stop a dentist surgery from using a toothy croc logo). Fortunately crocs have survived nearly 240 million years without being copyrighted.

Preventing Crocodile Attacks

2009-03-16T18:07:00.005+09:30

Yesterday (15 March 2009) an 11 year old local girl from Lambell's Lagoon was attacked and killed by a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). She was swimming with two of her friends near an area known as Black Jungle, one of the few remnant areas of rainforest near Darwin. This tragedy is one of those unfortunate inevitabilities that you dread hearing about on the news. It's inevitable in the same way that you know a dangerous road junction will only be addressed once there's been a fatality there. The difference here is that it's not the place that makes it inevitable, it's the fact that crocodiles are living all around us and yet not enough is being done about safety.

Here in the Northern Territory we get on reasonably well with saltwater crocodiles most of the time. They attract a lot of tourists, their presence employs a lot of local people, and they're one of the more fascinating of our local fauna. Occasionally that relationship becomes strained, and for the next few days this will certainly be the case around Darwin. People will demand answers, how could such a tragedy be allowed to occur, what is going to be done about it, should we start culling crocodiles, and can we prevent it from happening again? There's a general helplessness surrounding the event, as with any tragedy really. But let's go back to some of those questions.

The first is how could something like this happen? We live in close proximity to wildlife in Darwin, particularly the rural area, yet few people expect to find crocodiles near their homes. However, a quick look on Google Earth will reveal that Black Jungle is only a few hundred metres from the nearest rural properties, and that there is easy road access to the area. Zooming out on Google Earth makes you realise that Darwin sits slap bang in the middle of crocodile habitat, and that crocodiles are all around us. Good luck finding a place that's safe to swim here apart from the local swimming pool. The potential for conflict is certainly there, particularly considering that in recent years crocodiles have been branching out from the packed tidal rivers that represent their preferred habitat into floodplains, upstream freshwater areas and around the coast in search of new places to live.

The next question is what can be done about it? Most of the suggestions will fall between two extremes: cull the crocodile population, or be more careful next time. Many people wanting immediate revenge will be swayed towards the former, whereas the government approach is much closer to the latter. Culling sounds sensible on paper, but in reality it's not a viable solution. Ignoring for a moment the potential value that crocodiles represent to the area, culling is not a safety solution. If there are 80,000 crocodiles, how many do you cull? Ten? Five hundred? Ten thousand? When does it suddenly become safe to swim again? Don't worry folks, there's only a few hundred crocs left in this river - you'll be right for a swim!

So what about being more careful next time? I doubt the parents of the girl taken by the crocodile wouldn't find that helpful piece of advice very reassuring. They wanted to know that it wasn't safe for their daughter to swim there in the first place. And therein lies the heart of the matter.

Nobody ever plans on being attacked by a crocodile. Nobody wants to be attacked by a crocodile. Yet it happens. Why? Because the person involved doesn't know the risk. They may not believe that there are any crocodiles in the area, they may not even know much about crocodiles. They may have been misled by people telling them it was safe to swim there, or they may simply have been doing this for years without any hint of a problem.

Whatever the reason, the solution seems obvious. People need to be aware of the danger that crocodiles can pose, and they need to be aware of where crocodiles can be found throughout the year. They need to know that crocodiles are now everywhere, potentially in any body of water that doesn't have a fence around it, and that swimming is not an option anymore. The last time there was a major educational drive on crocodile safety in the Northern Territory was nearly 30 years ago, and a lot has changed in that time not least the crocodile population and its distribution. Despite this, much of the same information is being used today and the differences between then and now are not being made clear.

People must have up-to-date and factually correct information about the danger posed by crocodiles, not only for their own safety but so that transparency and trust can be established. If people don't respect what you're telling them about crocodiles, you can't expect them to listen.

Supercroc

2009-03-07T00:07:00.003+09:30

On Saturday 7 March at 6pm at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory I'm giving a short presentation on crocodilians called Crocodile: Predator Evolved. Just to further encourage you to rush out of the door to get your seat, the headline act is Dr Paul Sereno (University of Chicago) giving a talk on fossil crocs including Supercroc. We're all hoping that Paul will tell us a little about a few recent fossil croc discoveries, creatures not quite as large as Supercroc but a whole lot more bizarre. In fact, it's the subject of a National Geographic documentary that we're filming with Paul here in Darwin at the moment. I don't think he can get over how remarkable galloping freshwater crocodiles are at close range - there's perhaps no better modern analogy for how these extinct terretrial predators used to hunt. If they didn't catch up with their prey, they probably scared them half to death from the sight!

Happy 200th Birthday

2009-02-14T01:20:00.003+09:30

Charles Darwin was born on 12th February 1809, 200 years ago almost to the day. He popularised and promoted the idea of natural selection and evolution, a concept that he wasn't necessarily the first person to think about but certainly the person who brought the idea to a mass audience. And what a negative reaction he recieved back then, and judging by modern standards there is still a lot of controversy about it. The kicker was the concept of humans sharing ancestors with apes, rather than being created through divine means. Regardless of your beliefs, it has to be said that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has had a profound and lasting impact on society.

That being said, living in the City of Darwin (named after the Beagle landed here and named it after their most famous passenger) gives a certain added significance to Darwin's birthday. All this year there are bicentenary celebrations in Darwin, and they have started with perhaps the best. As a way of illustrating Darwin's theory of evolution, the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory has opened a new exhibition on Supercrocodilians - essentially, using crocodilians (or crocodyliforms if you want to be pedantic about it) to show how the fossils evidence shows their change over time. It's an excellent exhibit with some absolutely stunning croc skulls and taxidermy mounts. I was at the opening yesterday, but I spent so much time talking with various people that I didn't get chance to absorb it all properly.

So, armed with a camera, I will return! And I will post some of pictures of grinning croc skulls here for your edification and enjoyment.

There are no longer 23 species of crocodilians

2008-12-15T23:14:00.003+09:30

In fact, there are 25 of them. Possibly more. While we are all extremely concerned about the handful of critically endangered species that are in serious danger of disappearing from the wild forever, it would seem that there are a few crocodilian species that we know nothing about. It's understandable. For a start, most crocodilians look very similar to each other. You have to be very familiar with each species before you can reliably tell them apart, and even then it can leave experts guessing without a very detailed examination of the skin. To complicate matters further, some variation in appearance is normal - a scale here, and colour change there. There are many, many sugggested species, sub-species and regional variations of crocodilians, but up until recently there were only 23 commonly-accepted species.

Enter genetic analysis. This is a tool that boils all those visible and invisible differences between species into a sequence of base pairs - a genetic formula for a species. So if you compare two individuals you'll always find differences (unless they are identical clones). The problem is, which of those differences are important in determining whether they are genetically compatible? In other words, whether they are the same species or different species?

To complicate matters even further, hybridisation is possible between quite a lot of crocodilian species. You remember the part during biology lessons where the teacher told you that only if two individuals could breed and produce fertile offspring they were of the same species? Well, it was wrong. Crocodilians demonstrate this very well, and it makes it even more difficult to say for certain which species is which.

So, genetic analysis should be able to solve this dilemma... if we knew what to look for each time. The main problem with some of these crocodilians is getting enough genetic samples covering their entire distribution to enable meaningful comparison. Without it, you end up with uncertainty, but with sufficient samples you can say with more confidence whether the species you're testing comprises one or more species. This is essentially what Mitchell Eaton and his team from the American Museum of Natural History have done with the African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis). It was always suspected that there were two subspecies of dwarf crocodile: O. tetraspis tetrapsis and O. tetraspis osbornii based purely on morphological differences. Comparing photographs of the two candidates, the differences in the shape of the skull and the scalation were quite noticeable, but this alone was never sufficient evidence to separate them. But now that Eaton's team has compared the genetics across a sufficient wide range it's clear that there are major genetic differences there. The only thing is, there are enough differences to indicate three separate species, not just the two that were previously suspected. Perhaps the presence of this third species was sufficient to confuse any meaningful morphological comparisons earlier? Whatever the reason, we'll all have to revise our websites and our textbooks!

The three species? The third is as yet unnamed, but the first two are O. tetraspis and O. osbornii. It will be interesting to see what they name the third. Suggestions welcome!

The largest saltwater crocodile in the world

2008-12-04T02:37:00.005+09:30

How many times I have been asked this question: which is the largest crocodile in the world? Of course I always say that it's a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) because the evidence we have supports that. But there's not always a lot of actual evidence of large crocodile sizes, just plenty of "big croc" stories. Still, the biggest crocodile ever measured (with a tape measure) was around 6.3 metres long (20.7 feet) from Papua New Guinea.

But what about the largest living crocodile? There may be several huge crocs living in the wild that we don't know about, but the largest living crocodile in captivity has been living on Green Island near Cairns for over 20 years. His caretaker is George Craig, a former crocodile hunter who now runs Marineland Melanesia, a shrine dedicated to crocodiles on the island. It is quite a remarkable place, which is entirely reflective of how remarkable George himself is. You see, George loves crocodiles with the kind of passion that you rarely encounter. He respects them enormously. This is why we were very keen to meet and talk with him on a recent trip to Cairns. The truth is we could have talked for weeks about crocodiles, but we only had a few hours. George was very keen to show us his pride and joy, the largest living saltwater crocodile in captivity. His name is Cassius, and he originally came from the Northern Territory. At the time he was a little under 18 feet (5.5 metres) long, but he's now around 18.5 feet (5.6 metres). Like many extremely large crocodiles, Cassius is as gentle as a lamb around his keeper, unless some food is dangled in front of him. Then, looking remarkably like a dinosaur from a forgotten age, he explodes into action and grabs the food from George. The word "grab" doesn't really do it justice, as the item of food often explodes under the pressure of those jaws. It's a remarkable and sobering sight, and if you ever need reminding how awesome crocodiles really are then a trip to Green Island to see Cassius is essential. Don't forget to talk to George Craig - rarely will you find anyone who knows more about crocodiles and understands them like he does.

Snowy and the Cage of Death

2008-11-16T11:18:00.004+09:30

There's been a lot of publicity lately about the new crocodile exhibit that's opened in the middle of Darwin city centre called Crocosaurus Cove, and nearly all of it has concentrated on the curiously named "Cage of Death". Despite sounding like a good way of getting rid of excess tourists, the cage (which is actually an octagonal cylinder made from thick acrylic) is a way of getting people into the water - safely - with the crocodiles on display.

Response to this has been mixed, some believing that it's a great experience and a new way of seeing crocodiles, others thinking that it's a crazy thing to do, and yet others who believe that it's terrible and cruel to the crocodiles. Of course, people get out of it what they want, but frankly we're more inclined to think it's a good thing.

Of course, complete transparency here: although we're an independent company, we did put the educational materials together for the exhibit, and were involved in moving the crocodiles in from the local crocodile farm. But I must admit I was skeptical about the Cage of Death at first. Still I have to be honest: just being in the water with a large crocodile is quite a thrilling experience. Part of your mind tells you you're safe, the other part is trying to convince your body (unsuccessfully) to run away, run away. It must be a basic human response when faced with a large predator, especially when you're in its element and not your own.

How do the crocodiles respond to all this? What they don't do, of course, is view the Cage of Death as a feeding opportunity. At first they were somewhat annoyed by it, but they quickly learned that it was neither a threat nor a problem, and often do not deign to give it any further attention. But if you're in the water when they're in a curious mood, they'll come over and check it out. Crocodiles do get a rep as being bloodythirsty killers, but in reality they're just looking for opportunities in a completely detached, crocodile-like way. There shouldn't be any stress involved, particularly for a captive crocodile that is happy in the knowledge he's got plenty of food and space available. That's all crocodiles in the wild are looking for most of the time, after all.

And the enclosures at Crocosaurus Cove are certainly in keeping with the modern zoo mentality of giving the animal what it wants first, and what humans want second. The great power of zoos, of course, is to educate people. Crocodiles are animals that people need to know about, especially if they live in crocodile habitat or visit crocodile habitat. It should be our responsibility, and that of local governments, to ensure that people understand safety around crocodiles. Failure to do this is splashed over the front page of every newspaper in the country, and crocodiles sink yet further in public perception. As long as those zoos are not failing in their duty to provide their animal occupants with all the essentials to keep them happy (not just to keep them alive) then they can play a valuable role.

Award-winning crocodiles

2008-11-03T00:21:00.007+09:30

It's always great when crocodiles win awards. When a natural history programme featuring crocodiles wins an award, you know the toothy ones had a fairly significant role to play in it. Especially when the programme in question is Life in Cold Blood: Armoured Giants which just won the Golden Panda at the recent Wildscreen awards held in Bristol, UK. I like to think that our saltwater crocodiles had a part to play in winning, of course, as they featured in perhaps the most spectacular sequence in the programme - cooperative feeding on fish, which was filmed here in northern Australia. Being the scientific advisor for the crocodile half of the programme, I was able to persuade the BBC to bring Sir David Attenborough out to work with us on this crocodile sequence, because I knew exactly how spectacular it would be to get David and the crocs in shot. Working with David for a whole week was an experience we will never forget. This is someone who was responsible for getting me into a life of wildlife in the first place, and I felt this was a way of paying him back in some tiny way.

Travels around Queensland

2008-10-20T13:14:00.002+09:30

It's been a little while since I last posted a blog update, but that's because Erin and I have been travelling around Queensland working on some crocodile consultancies. We've been staying in isolated communities usually with very limited communications, and often working at night at very odd hours - going to bed at 6pm and getting up at 1am to catch the right tide never seems to be easy. Yet there's something oddly liberating about working for several hours on a river at night and then getting back just as the sky begins to brighten in the east and the first rays of dawn appear.

We get back to Darwin in late October, so hopefully normal blog service will resume then. That is, after we've both caught up on our sleep.

Creatures of Bullo River

2008-09-02T09:29:00.004+09:30

The land around Bullo River Station is spectacular, to say the least. And its inhabitants are equally remarkable. As part of our ongoing study into pygmy freshwater crocodiles (see previous post) we keep bumping into critters that seem even more intriguing.

Every two to three days, Franz Ranacher drops us off with his Robinson R44 helicopter into the upstream escarpment country. Once the fading sound of rotor blades has left us behind, we're surrounding by the sounds of birds, chirruping insects and squeaking frogs. You really don't have to go very far to find something fascinating. Our surveys involve long walks during the day along the creeklines and isolated pools, returning at night to spotlight for crocodiles and hopefully catch a handful for tissue samples. So we get to see a lot of diurnal and nocturnal wildlife. Occasionally we find something that really takes our breath away. Apart from the crocodiles of course, which are always cause for excitement.

So if you'll excuse my slight devitation from the crocodile theme of this blog, here are a couple of really cool critters. You can call them honourary crocodiles if it makes you feel any better about it!

The first is a Northern Knob-tailed Gecko (Nephrurus sheai). This little fellow was hot-footing it along beside our mozzie dome one night, looking more like a wind-up mechanical toy than a reptile. We managed to intercept him with the camera and took a few snaps. They really do have a tiny little, stunted-looking knobbly tail. I'm sure the first one to be found was suspected of having its tail bitten off when it was young... and then the second... and then they all seem to have these bizarre tails! They also have an enormous head, so much that they always seem to be in danger of pitching nose-first into the sand. Their entire body is also covered with tiny, rosetted scales. With their huge eyes and disarmingly amused expression, they're not the kind of thing you forget easily.

The second is a Leichardt's Grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera), which seem like they've come straight out of a children's toyshop. Some Aboriginal people call these "Children of the Lightning Man" and you can probably see why. As you can probably imagine, they taste pretty bad, which explains why they're pretty laid back when you find one. Not that we had any intentions of eating one to test the theory. These grasshoppers are also used as a sign of the oncoming wet season. Although it is still early September here, the humidity is starting to rise and the days and nights are getting progressively warmer. These kinds of triggers cause the adult form of the grasshoppers to emerge, where they are said to look for the lightning storms that signal the beginning of the wet season in November.

Pygmy crocodiles of Bullo River

2008-09-01T11:50:00.003+09:30

Back in early 2006, we were contacted by Marlee Ranacher from Bullo River Station about their freshwater crocodiles. Not any old freshwater crocodiles, however, these were pygmy freshwater crocodiles. These tiny bundles of attitude are essentially very similar to freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) but they live in far upstream escarpment areas around the Northern Territory in particular. In these areas there is very little food, mostly various species of small fish no more than a couple of inches in length, small crustaceans and... well, that's about it. As a result of not having much food available, they don't grow very large. They are essentially stunted crocodiles, but they have adapted to this unique environment. And, more importantly, they are essentially geographically isolated from downstream, "normal" freshwater crocodile populations. That in itself makes them interesting, but they have the potential to be even more interesting.

If they are geographically isolated and there is little or no genetic input from more downstream populations, then they have the potential to become genetically distinct over many generations. It's evolution at work. One tantalising clue comes from a breeding pair of these tiny crocodiles, originally from the upstream Liverpool River, that were bred by Melbourne Zoo. The offspring were fed a normal captive diet, and therefore they should have grown into normal freshwater crocodiles. However, they did not - they were also stunted. Although that doesn't prove anything, it makes enquiring minds want to know whether they are indeed different.

There is another spanner in the works. Cane toads! These warty horrors can get into the most amazing places, and that includes upstream freshwater escarpments. We already know that freshwater crocodiles eat cane toads, and that they are susceptible to their toxin, and a recent study showed a 70% decline in crocodile populations before and after cane toad arrival. Pygmy crocodiles, being smaller, are more susceptible to the toxins from these toads, and therefore we are all extremely concerned about the long-term impact of toads on these pygmy populations.

So we are here at Bullo River conducting surveys and to collect tissue samples from a representative sample of crocodiles. The surveys involve walking along an upstream creek during the day, mainly to find pools and to figure out how to climb between them - some areas are quite treacherous to get around - and then walking back at night with a headtorch and spotlight to count the number of eyeshines in each pool. Crocodiles have a reflective layer in the retina of their eyes, and the reflected light is bright red so they are quite easy to see at night if they are on the surface. The problem is, many crocodiles are not on the surface - usually they're hiding amongst vegetation, under logs, and particularly in cracks between submerged rocks. So you really have to spend a lot of time looking around, double and triple checking each pool.

Catching them to take a tissue sample is another challenge. The best, and perhaps only effective way of doing it is to get into the water and catch them by hand. Most of the time this isn't a problem because they're fairly small, although trying to hand-catch a 1.5 metre crocodile (the biggest any pygmy croc appears to get) requires a bit of care! Many of the crocodiles are also very naive towards people and will happily swim over to check you out. Some of the larger, territorial males aren't best pleased by your presence either. Once captured, however, they become quite placid and can be measured and photographed with ease. We take a small sample of tissue from the tail, basically a piece of mostly dried skin, and then release the crocodile back into its pool where it glowers at us. If only we could tell them that it's all in their best interests.

We're here for a few more days yet and we've seen some pretty amazing creatures up here, so there'll be more to come.

2nd Annual Crocs Galore Gala

2008-08-21T11:50:00.004+09:30

Lori Watkins of the Crocodilian Advisory Group has just sent me the following press release about the 2nd Annual Crocs Galore Gala. Make sure you contact Lori (see below) if you want more information about what sounds like a lot of fun.

--
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, NC

Please come join us for the 2nd Annual Crocs Galore Gala on Saturday, October 25, 2008 for a night of fun to support crocodilian conservation, education and research of the most critically endangered species!

Croctober Halloween Event: FREE to all visitors...9am-5pm: Event will include:

coloring/craft croc tables for kids.
crocodilian artifact/biofact table.
CAG merchandise table.
Face painting table.
Opportunity to have your picture taken with a 'ghostly' albino alligator
Live crocs.
Live animal show featuring reptiles from around the world by Ken Alfieri from Alligator Adventure.
Slide presentation about Crocodile Conservation by member of the Crocodilian Advisory Group.
Raffle of a gharial skull

Evening event 6 pm to 9 pm: 2nd Annual Crocs Galore Gala hosted by the Crocodilian Advisory Group with guest speaker Dr. Brady Barr from National Geographic... the only biologist to capture all 23 species of crocodilians in the wild! Evening Event is by ticket purchase $25 for adults, $15 children 4-13, under 3 free: questions or purchase of tickets...

email Lori Watkins, CAG Fundraising Chair at Lori.Watkins@ncmail.net.

Gala includes heavy hors d'ouvres, beverages, including wine & beer.

coloring/craft croc tables for kids.
crocodilian artifact/biofact table.
CAG merchandise table.
Live crocs
Scavenger hunt
Live/Silent auction, with all proceeds going 100% to the Crocodilian
Advisory Group.

Room reservations at the: CLARION HOTEL STATE CAPITAL, 320 HILLSBOROUGH ST, RALEIGH, NC 27603-1786 USA, Phone: 919-832-0501. If anyone wants to come to the event and reserve a room, rooms are $79/night and they are blocked off under the Crocodilian Advisory Group.

Closest airport is Raleigh/Durham.

If you are unable to attend the event, but would still like to help, please make checks out to the Toledo Zoo, Croc TAG in the memo line and send to: North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Attn: Lori Watkins, PO Box 967, Manteo, NC 27954. If you would like to donate items for the live/silent auction, please contact Lori Watkins at Lori.Watkins@ncmail.net. Check out the Crocodilian Advisory Group website at www.cag.crocodylia.com Thanks!

Lori Watkins, Crocodilian Advisory Group Fundraising Chair Aquarist/Herpetologist North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

Smaugasboard

2008-08-11T18:58:00.005+09:30

No really, I spelled that correctly. You see, we have a crocodile called Smaug in our garden. He's a 14.5 foot (4.5 metre) long Australian Saltwater Crocodile. We called him that because, well, he looks like a smug dragon that could be sitting on a large mound of golden coins. For those that don't immediately see the references, that's what Bilbo Baggins finds the dragon Smaug doing near the end of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Considering that Peter Jackson and Benicio del Toro are producing the movie version of the book at the moment, we thought of sending them Smaug's audition tape. He's quite a dynamic presence, as you can see from the photograph (thanks to Graeme Sawyer).

Oh and incidentally, the board that we used to carry Smaug on when we built the enclosure? That's the Smaugasboard.

Science Writer Awards 2008

2008-07-31T00:15:00.004+09:30

As a scientist I've always strongly believed in the necessity to communicate science to the world at large. Science is often very much misunderstood, and poorly communicated. To many people the words "science" or "scientist" conjour up images of a bespectacled nerd in a white lab coat mixing the coloured contents of test tubes. In reality science affects us all and is of critical importance to our survival in the future... and the survival of species and habitats on this planet, which of course is one aspect of science that concerns me.

So the ability to communicate science and what makes it important is a real asset to a scientist. The recent Science Writer Awards 2008 present a number of excellent essays written by young scientists that highlight just how exciting and passionate science can be. They are all worth a read, as is watching the short video by luminaries in the field of science communication.

In some ways it is a little easier communicating how exciting science can be when you work on crocodiles, so I always admire those who can communicate a little of the passion they feel about their own area of science.

Crocodile defence

2008-07-21T09:38:00.001+09:30

It's rather chilly in Alice Springs at this time of year. I know that because I'm here right now, in an airport waiting lounge where staff keep flinging the outside doors wide open, letting in an icy blast of air that just isn't fit to be allowed inside any building. I'm waiting for my connecting flight to Sydney, where I hear it's so cold that penguins have taken up residence on the harbour bridge. I'm not sure if that's accurate, I'm sure I read it somewhere.

I hate waiting in airport lounges, especially when you look up and realise that the board informing you of your flight departure time is suddenly replaced with the time of a completely different flight. Oh no, have I missed it? Did they change it? Can I be bothered to get up from my slightly warm seat to go and investigate the main flight information board that is always placed in such a way that you have to walk over to read it? I'd better finish this blog post first.

I'm going to Sydney to defend the saltwater crocodile. It's another documentary dealing with a crocodile attack, and it's apparently my job to describe the motivations behind the attack from the crocodile's perspective. The victim is Jeff Tanswell, a fine bloke who we met last year in Darwin, introducing him to a crocodile for the first time since one bit him on the head while he was snorkelling off Thursday Island. I get the impression that Jeff quite likes crocodiles, except when they bite him on the head. So, the show in question wishes to reconstruct the attack (again) and it's my job to ensure that they represent what happened accurately. And that means defending the crocodile, because the natural assumption is that the crocodile had some kind of evil intent in its attack. Jeff realises that this wasn't the case, so let's hope that I can convince the production company. I don't think that should be difficult, because the concept that a crocodile is "just human" (if you'll forgive the extremely suspect analogy) and was only being "a crocodile" (to contradict my own analogy within the same sentence!) should be and - indeed - is more interesting than the notion that it's simply a toothy killing machine interested only in biting heads.

But ultimately I have very little control over the finished product. I can only hope that my interview and Jeff's detailed account are both integrated into the final reconstruction. It is not always the case with these things. Having done a lot of reconstructions for various production companies over the years, there is a tendency to push things towards the dramatic at the expense of the accurate. Now I'm all for getting people to watch and learn through devious means, but I strongly believe it can be done without compromising the facts. When it comes to crocodile attacks, we owe it to the victims - and the crocodiles - to get the facts right.

Attacked by a crocodile while editing a film

2008-07-13T00:39:00.004+09:30

Ok, that deliberately provocative title should not be taken at face value! However, I figured that "Cleaning the croc pool and doing some NLE" perhaps wasn't quite so exciting. But yes, it's all true. Today we decided it was time to clean the underwater filming pool, as we have a film crew using it next week. Cleaning involves attaching a long hose to the pump, setting it to waste, and sucking out any leaves and other detritus that has accumulated in the filming room. If we didn't do this, entering the water would stir up sediment and reduce visibility a little too much.

Cleaning is much easier on scuba, so tanked up I got into the water and started to clean. Smaug, our large male crocodile, wasn't too impressed by all this banging and splashing that I was doing and came across to investigate. It's quite a shock, even now, to realise that your face is about half a metre from a steel barrier behind which a very large crocodile is studying you intently. I noticed he was attracted to the bubbles that I was exhaling, and hence he was following me round. It didn't take long before his curiosity got the better of him and he struck at the fence with a loud clang. Underwater, a loud clang sounds more like someone dropping a pin on the floor. At least, to insensitive humans such as myself. However, with my face mere inches from his crashing jaws I was in no doubt what was going on! For just the briefest moment, I found myself wondering what I was doing. There I was, 2 metres under the surface with a 4.5 metre (14.5 ft) saltwater crocodile trying to get at me. The only thing separating us was a steel mesh barrier. A very strong one, it must be pointed out, but the feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is a hard one for your mind to shake off.

Of course, it all looked absolutely spectacular and I wished I had an underwater camera with me. That is, naturally, the entire point of the facility. It is a completely unique way of seeing saltwater crocodiles. The fish swimming around my head didn't seem too impressed, though - they were more curious what on Earth I was doing down there too. By this time the floor was clean and I was getting cold. Next time I will persuade the film crew to avoid coming at the coldest time of year!

As for editing the film, well that all seems rather mundane after that little story. But we're pretty pleased with it. It's a 3 minute short film about crocodiles, with music and sound effects but no narration. There are sumptuous images of crocodiles and habitats that we filmed in DVC PRO HD late last year, and it's all coming together very nicely. I wrote the music in a few hours, but the biggest challenge was matching it with the images. Our NLE software isn't really equipped for music synchronisation, so I did it the old fashioned way. Anyway, it has reignited our appetite to produce longer films, without a doubt. It also justifies the purchase of our new plasma HDTV because, frankly, it looks stunning on there. It will soon be on display running continuously on multiple HDTV screens at Crocosaurus Cove, which will be great to see.

Oh look, a crocodile!

2008-06-29T21:21:00.003+09:30

There's a new tourism facility opening in Darwin very soon called Crocosaurus Cove. It might sound like a great place to lie on a beach towel and soak up the sun while giant reptiles wander past, but it's actually going to be the equivalent of an aquarium for crocodiles. Big crocodiles - we're talking 18 footers here. And Big Gecko was contracted to assist with moving them from the Darwin Crocodile Farm into the new facility, situated in the middle of town. Don't worry, there will be pictures to come but for now I should relate a cautionary tale about driving large crocodiles down the highway on a Saturday! It's the kind of activity that can be extremely hazardous, but not for the reasons you might think. Catching and transporting the crocodiles is a piece of cake really, but getting one down to highway into the town centre without causing a major accident? Now that's quite a job! People nonchalently overtaking in the right-hand lane would suddenly realise they were overtaking a trailer holding a very large crocodile, slam on the brakes, and fumble around on the back seat for their mobile phone camera so they could show the kids, all while weaving around wildly. When they weren't taking their eyes off the road, their passengers were winding the windows down to gesticulate towards the crocodile in case anyone had failed to spot it. We even had cars slowing down in front of the towing vehicle, causing our driver to overtake just so they could take a photograph as it passed them.

And people think crocodiles are dangerous...!

Sim Croc

2008-06-20T01:27:00.004+09:30

I used to love playing Will Wright's simulation games when I was younger. I spent hours on Sim Ant, Sim Life and Sim Earth, all of which offered a fascinating if somewhat limited simulation of the subject matter. They become more sophisticated over time, and now Will Wright is putting the finishing touches to Spore - a game that enables you to take a single celled organism, evolve it into a multicellular creature, build a tribe, a civilisation, and eventually colonise other planets. It all sounds like an overly-optimistic exercise, but I'm looking forward to how it turns out nonetheless.

The first taste of the game was released a few days ago in the form of the Spore Creature Creator. As a zoologist I couldn't resist. You start off with a basic body and spine, and the ability to change its shape, add limbs, sense organs, weapons and other bits and pieces. After mere minutes you normally end up with a living, breathing digital creature that you can take for a walk around a small arena, activating a number of behaviours to show it off. It's a prelude to the main game, but it's no doubt a complete game in its own right. The power of the editor is remarkable, and the way the game interprets your creature and makes it move is impressive to say the least.

It really is a zoologist's dream come true - the ability to create whatever creature you want, to act like a digital God. There are limits of course, this is a computer simulation and not life, but the exponentially expanding Sporepedia of life shows just how incredibly flexible it can be.

Naturally, my first inclination was to create a crocodile. Frankly, it turned out a bit flat because I hadn't figured out how to manipulate the body properly. I won't even assail your poor eyes with it! My second attempt, however, was much better. Of course, I took some liberties with the crocodilian form and ended up with something more akin to an endearingly cute crocodylomorph / dinosaur hybrid. There's a picture below, followed by the .png file so you can import it into the Creature Creator if you want to play around with it.

Tempus fugit

2008-06-19T09:02:00.004+09:30

I seem to be missing the whole point of this blog thing! It's all about rapid updates, about sharing thoughts and snippits of information that might not otherwise be particularly newsworthy - a glimpse into my psyche, I suppose.

So it doesn't really work when it's been two months since the last update! How am I supposed to create an audience? Ok, let's try this again. This time I promise to regale you with all kinds of bits of useless information, and hopefully a little bit of useful information too.

I recently came back from Bolivia, where I attended the 19th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group. The CSG is an IUCN-SSC (ie. Species Specialist Commission) group, essentially made up of volunteers who are invited into the group because they are significantly involved in crocodiles: conservation, education, research, management, farming, that kind of thing. Every two years there's a working meeting where the steering committee meet and we have several days of spoken and poster presentations. Of course, the main value of these meetings is really meeting people, catching up with friends and colleagues, sharing ideas, and hatching plans for collaborations. Before I'd finished I'd been invited to just about every country in Latin America, and it must be said I can think of few better places to visit. Bolivia was my first visit to South America and it was a great experience, and not just because it was just so completely spectacular. Even coming into Santa Cruz from La Paz ensured that I was glued to the aeroplane's window totally gobsmacked by the spectacular views of snow-clad mountains with clouds spilling down their flanks.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll write more about this later. I have to keep these short and sweet so that I have incentive (and time!) to keep writing them. Sometimes you get so busy that you completely forget where the time has gone.

Truth in the Media

2008-04-16T12:54:00.006+09:30

Ah, don't we love our local newspaper the Northern Territory News! They do try, but occasionally I'd like to strangle (figuratively of course) the journalist who wrote the story. In this case we sent out a media release talking about the work we did with Sir David Attenborough in November 2006 for his excellent series Life in Cold Blood. After all, it was quite a momentous event for us bringing the great Sir David to the Territory to film our saltwater crocodiles (and I'm sure I'll write more about that experience later).

The original media release contains the following:

"David Attenborough is one of the only people I've met who actually exceeded my expectations" said Dr Britton. "His enthusiasm and fascination for both animals and people was humbling, and there's no better ambassador for how remarkable our crocodiles are than watching David enthuse about them in his inimitable style."

The NT News version was:

"There's no better ambassador for how remarkable our crocodiles are than watching David describe how magnificent they are," Dr Britton said.

Gah.

They then go on to quote me saying that people come to the NT because it's a place that crocodiles eat people! First of all that was not a quote, and taken out of context of the media release (which is all about the value of crocs to the NT) it rather misses the point!

Oh well, keep trying...

Three cheeky monkeys, one crocodile

2008-04-14T20:59:00.005+09:30

Just got back from the Darwin premiere of Black Water, not a film about rogue security agencies in Iraq but rather a crocodile thriller set in the Northern Territory. As you can imagine, the crocodile featured in the film wasn't interested in tea and biscuits with the cast. It is the latest in a series of movies about killer crocodiles, but I reckon this was easily the best. Of course I may be slightly biased because I did a lot of work on the crocodile sequences for the movie!

The film is loosely based on a couple of actual crocodile attacks that occurred in the NT, but they are used as a premise to set up the situation. You might call it a situation horror film: what would you do if you were stuck up a tree surrounded by water containing an unfeasibly hungry crocodile? It's an interesting premise because it plays upon your fears: not knowing where the crocodile is, nor what its motives are, and not really knowing what to do. And although the crocodile behaviour ends up being a little unrealistic by the end of the movie, it was certainly effective. Of course, I'm a sucker for films that take their time to establish atmosphere. I'm not a fan of most modern "horror" films that mistakenly believe that gore is a substitute for generating tension, and in that sense Black Water is quite old-fashioned.

We ended up doing most of the crocodile effect shots for the film, and I was intrigued because the director wanted to use real crocodiles instead of CGI. Perhaps that was a question of budget (Black Water cost $1.2 million Australian dollars) but it turned out for the best - there's no question that the effects look an order of magnitude better and more convincing than any CGI beast, because the crocodile was in control of its movement and not a computer animator. I've long been frustrated by how crocodile effects have been handled in movies, so what better way to show how it should be done than turn to the experts themselves - saltwater crocodiles. Our job was to get footage of the crocodiles doing what was in the script!

Most of this was simpler than you might think if you use the right approach - understand each individual crocodile, know what its strengths are, and encourage it to perform the right behaviour. It's a case of working around the animal, and adapting to what it wants to do. Of course, the director had such a low budget that we had to cut a few corners. One sequence involving a crocodile climbing into a boat could have been done by training the crocodile - something we've done several times in the past - but that takes time. Instead we had to improvise, encouraging the crocodile to run down a bank into the boat rather than climb over the side. And getting it out again? Why, just tip the boat! With a bit of creative editing it ended up looking quite convincing.

In fact, the end result looks so convincing that I've seen reviewers who couldn't tell whether we were using real crocodiles, CGI or models. Of course, the actors were mostly acting against a blue screen so that the crocodiles could be digitally inserted later, but it's real croc behaviour on screen and not an animator's idea of croc behaviour. A lot of these techniques come from years of working on natural history films where you need to understand the animals in order to know how, when and where to film them.

Things didn't always go to plan, though. The director wanted a specific shot of a crocodile launching itself towards camera left, jaws opening. We knew the crocodile that would deliver this shot, so we used a chicken to entice him towards us. The camera was housed in a protective case which was suspended near the chicken. I did warn the camera operator not to get too close to the head or the casing might get bitten. Too late. The crocodile took one look at the chicken, then one look at the white camera housing that was twice the size, and figured it would go for what must have looked like an enormous chicken! Crunch! The croc punctured the housing in several places and dragged it off its mount into the water. Fortunately the camera operator whipped it out of the water by its cable before the crocodile could find the soft, chewy centre. Scratch one very expensive casing, but it did get them a far better shot that ended up in the film.

Black Water has already opening theatrically in the UK, and it's available in the US on DVD, and finally now opening in Australia theatrically. It's definitely worth watching if you want to see real crocodiles on the big screen.

Antibiotic factors in crocodile and alligator blood - Part 1

2008-04-09T14:23:00.005+09:30

In response to the discovery this week by Dr Mark Merchant (McNeese State University) that American alligators have powerful antibiotics in their blood, I've decided to write a short history of our research into crocodile blood and the discovery of the antibiotic "crocodillin" back in 1998. It's an eventful tale, so in the nature of all good cliffhangers I'm going to split it into at least two parts. Or perhaps that's because I don't have time to write the whole thing at once!

So, let's travel in time back to 1998 (don't worry, we're not staying forever). I was involved in a research project that I thought would have major repercussions around the world, because what we discovered was potentially ground-breaking. I was approached by BBC Science to suggest an interesting research project that they could fund, and film. Did I have an interesting project, oh boy!

I had long been intrigued by the immune system of crocodiles, having seen numerous examples where they generously gave each other some pretty horrific physical injuries - slashes and gashes exposing muscle and bone, ripping off legs, and biting off tails. Just a typical night down the swamp. And yet I couldn't recall ever seeing such wounds become infected. Put yourself in the same position: you've just had your arm bitten, you're lying in filthy water full of bacteria, and you just know it's going to get infected and you might even lose your arm. Not so with crocodiles.

What was it about crocodiles, I wondered, that gave them such potent immune systems? And was it something we could use in human medicine to treat our own disease?

The BBC Science producer, Jill Fullerton-Smith, wasn't particularly interested in this at first. Perhaps it didn't feature enough heads being ripped off wildebeests (the usual staple of TV documentaries about crocodiles)? Or perhaps she needed time to think about it? Yes, that was it. In fact, she apparently woke up one night a couple of weeks later, sat bolt upright in bed, and realised what a great question it was!

So a few months later with a BBC camera crew in tow, we started catching both captive and wild crocodiles to get a few ml of blood. We invited a few "celebrities" along to make the show more exciting (as if a British guy catching crocs in northern Australia wasn't exciting enough!) and sent the blood across to Dr Gill Diamond in New Jersey. I remember suggesting Gill because I'd recently read about his work looking at Komodo Dragon blood, investigating why those lizards with particularly unsavoury saliva didn't infect each other during fighting. He'd developed a technique to fractionate serum into its constituents for amplification and analysis. In short, he seemed like the ideal person for the job of looking at our crocodile blood. After preparing the samples and sending Gill red blood cells, white blood cells (leucocytes) and serum, we crossed our fingers and waited. We actually had to send the samples a second time because the courier company screwed up and let everything defrost and rot. Good job we only sent half the samples in case of such an event!

A few weeks later I was sitting in my office and the phone rang, it was the BBC producer Jill. I could tell she was excited. Gill Diamond had isolated the active constituent in the blood and tested it against a range of bacteria - it killed them all. He then thought he'd try for the jackpot and tested it against MRSA (methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) otherwise known as Golden Staph - resistant to all known antibiotics.

The constituent in the crocodile blood killed the MRSA bacteria.

I don't think it hit me straight away just how exciting it all was. I think Jill was expecting me to dance around the room punching my fists into the air, but perhaps it was my combined British reserve and scientific scepticism that kept it in check. For a while at least.

The results of our exploits were shown in the BBC documentary "Secret Life of Crocodiles" (also known as "Crocodile Secrets" on the Discovery Channel).

Gill's team and I were able to present these findings at the IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group meeting in Florida in 2002, and the abstract appeared in the proceedings:

Britton, A.R.C., Diamond, G., Laube, D. and Kaiser, V., 2002. Antimicrobial activity in the blood of the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). [abstract presented by G. Diamond at the 16th Working Meeting of the IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group, Florida, USA, October 2002]

The saltwater crocodile shows a low incidence of infection from serious injuries sustained during intraspecific aggression, in spite of the microbe-laden environment in which it lives. This suggests a well-developed innate immune system, which provides a rapid, non-specific first line of host defense. In other aquatic species such as amphibians and fish, this defense is found in the mucous skin secretions as antimicrobial peptides. Due to the anatomy of the crocodile, we reasoned that a homologous defense would be found in the circulatory system, either as soluble factors or as agents expressed in phagocytic cells. To address the first hypothesis, we extracted serum from wild saltwater crocodiles to isolate naturally occurring antibiotics. The serum was maintained at -80C until fractionation. Serum was fractionated by Reverse-phase HPLC on a C-18 column with a 0-60% acetonitrile gradient, and fractions were assayed for antibiotic activity against E. coli in a modified radial diffusion assay. Preliminary results indicated strong antibiotic activity in several fractions. We have taken a single fraction, eluting at 13% acetonitrile, for further characterization. Based on our initial observations, we predict that the crocodile exhibits both peptide and non-peptide based antimicrobial activity in its blood.

In our next exciting episode, we travel forward in time to 2002 to meet Supercroc!

Two very different crocodile movies

2007-08-13T14:49:00.001+09:30

My wife and I saw two very different movies last weekend. Both featured crocodiles, and crocodile attacks, but that's about where the similarity ended. You see, the first dealt with the crocodile as a villain - a creature to be feared, which wanted to kill repeatedly, with little motivation other than a desire to protect its territory. But in reality it was a classic movie monster - a creature hidden in darkness, possessing the ability to kill in nasty and unpleasant ways, and usually at the most inopportune moment. Its victims were essentially charicatures of the human condition, and the movie followed the great traditions of monster movies by setting the group up to be picked off one-by-one, some predictably, some slightly less predictably. And then there was the monster, based on reality but bowing to the conventions of the genre by being somewhat unreal, much larger than normal, considerably more aggressive and insatiable. Oh, and computer-generated. All credit due to them, the film-makers clearly went out of their way to create a believable looking crocodile. They failed of course, but they came pretty close on several occasions. So close, in fact, that it was easier to spot when they got it wrong. You see, it's the uncanny principle: the closer something gets to reality, the less real it looks because your brain just knows that it's not quite right. Every mistake is amplified, every nuance is picked over. Don't get me wrong, these guys did a remarkable job, but we just become more vicious critics the better they get at it. I was expecting to give the crocodile effects a 5/10 at best, but I had to concede to an 8/10 on the night. Probably a whole mark was down to general adrenaline, but it was much better than I expected.

If you haven't guessed by now, the movie was Rogue - the latest feature by director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek). It doesn't open until October internationally, but Darwin was treated to a real-life movie premiere as a gesture of thanks by the director to the Territory and those who worked on the film. I was impressed by that. Turns out, unsurprisingly, that Greg McLean is a top bloke, and he accepted my criticisms of his croc very graciously. I felt bad even criticising it, to be honest, because it's obviously they really tried very hard. Good job guys, but I still prefer the real ones.

The movie itself, incidentally, was actually pretty good. It's basically a creature feature horror movie, doesn't take itself too seriously, but also doesn't try to seem important simply because it's not taking itself seriously. Don't you hate that? It's a film of three very distinct acts: the introduction which is a stunning showcase for the Northern Territory, the second where things go badly wrong for our cast, the the last act where... well, let's just say we get to see a lot of that CGI crocodile being an almost crocodile. A crocsimile, if you like. Overall I enjoyed the first two acts the most, while the third provided a fun but fairly shallow resolution. However, Rogue is probably the best "creature feature" monster film I've seen since... well, since Jaws. Just don't take it too seriously, all right?

And now to the second crocodile movie: Crocodile Dreaming. This, unlike Rogue, treated the crocodile with reverence and respect. In fact, that was the whole premise behind the movie: an Aboriginal "dreaming" story about the power of the crocodile's spirit and its importance to the lives of those people who share it. It was also, at heart, a supernatural thriller bringing together two estranged brothers: the first who angered the crocodile spirit (and paid for it dearly) and the second who helped him appease and come to terms with it. To be honest, I was far more affected by this film within the first 5 minutes than throughout the entirety of Rogue - it was much more frightening for a start, mostly because it was so real. Part of this may come from the fact that real crocodiles were used instead of computer generated ones, with all the unpredictability that comes with that. I have to fess up and say that I was the crocodile wrangler for this film, but I had no artistic input whatsoever so I'm not biased about my opinions. It's only a short film, less than half an hour, but it really packs a massive emotional punch, plus it's stunningly shot and very well acted. Make sure that Rogue isn't the only crocodile movie that you see this year.

A hatching event

2005-01-18T14:32:00.000+09:30

Welcome to the new Croc Blog - a place where I'll be able to talk fairly freely about everything crocodilian (and probably a few things non-crocodilian) that are taking place in my life and at crocodilian.com.

To be honest, I really haven't messed around with blogs before. Sure, I've heard of them, but I've never actually done anything about it. I used to think I was quite au fait with HTML and web page design... but that was back in 1998! The design of crocodilian.com really hasn't changed a huge amount since I redesigned it back then. To be honest, I liked the simple design, and I liked the way it was pretty easy to update using existing templates. Since then, web design has moved on quite a bit but I'm stuck with the same design. In some ways I quite like it - at least I know everyone can view it on any browser, and frankly I prefer simplicity over superfluous frills when it comes to presenting information. However, technology has finally grabbed me like a crocodile in a death roll and here I am.

Of course, I have no idea what all this rambling is going to look like, so my desire to hit the "Publish Post" button has now overtaken my desire to actually write anything you'd be interested in reading.

But don't go away - when I get this all sorted, this will be a mecca for crocodilian ramblings, and if you don't know what that entails you'll just have to check back later.