Croc numbers? How many damn crocs are there, anyway?
Well, it appears that no-one really knows just how many crocodiles there are in the N.T. Maybe they do know the real croc numbers, and maybe they don’t. I think the whole thing might be some kind of political animal – I do, I really do.
How many are there?
Croc numbers could be 100,000 or 200,000 or 300/000 or……………….?
It seems that estimates might range from a low of 100,000 to as many as 200,000. And on top of that the population is growing.
And growing……………………………
In respect to the estimate of 100,000:
“Population Information
Top
Prior to 1970, the Salt-water Crocodile was hunted in a manner that was shown to be unsustainable. In the Northern Territory, as few as 3000 Salt-water Crocodiles were present when hunting ceased. Since the species became protected, the Northern Territory population has increased to 30–40 000 in 1984 and 70–75 000 in 1994.”
SOURCE: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1774
AND
“More crocodiles in the NT
There is estimated to be around 100,000 saltwater crocodiles in the wild in the NT.”
SOURCE: https://nt.gov.au/environment/animals/wildlife-in-nt/crocodiles
in respect to the estimate of croc numbers of 200,000:
“The total Australian population is currently estimated to be approximately 100 000, although some authors estimate the population is even higher; between 100 000 and 200 000 (Fukuda et al. 2007).”
SOURCE: Fukuda, Y., P. Whitehead & G. Boggs (2007). Broad-scale environmental influences on the abundance of saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus). Australia. Wildlife Research. 34:167-176.
By the way, that is a hell of a lot of difference isn’t it?
I mean, it is possible that there are actually twice as many crocodiles as compared to the official estimate.
Also, the numbers change while people are out there counting them. It takes time to plan to carry out a population survey, get out there and do the job, followed up by the time to create the authoritative reports precisely as they must be’.
How many new crocodiles are there each year.?
The numbers keep growing and the crocodile must adapt.
The fact that the crocodiles are now shifting into areas that have not for some time been populated by crocodiles suggests an explosion in numbers, even if a small explosion.
“Population trends
Leach and colleagues (2009) summarised research into Salt-water Crocodile populations and found the population trend to be increasing. Four main observations led to this conclusion:
These guys are moving out and about. Who knows where this goes?
The biomass of animals in some waterways continues to increase, including in rivers where the increase in abundance has plateaued. This is consistent with the expectation of the maturing size and age structure of a large, slow-growing species that is continuing to recover from the threshold of extinction in the 1970s.
The distribution of the Salt-water Crocodile is expanding upstream to re-colonise accessible freshwater habitats in the Northern Territory (Letnic & Connors 2006 cited in Leach et al. 2009).
There is an increase in the number of individuals that are living in marginal habitat, such as the coasts and seas (Nichols & Letnic 2008 cited in Leach et al. 2009).
The number of animals removed from the Intensively Managed zone in the Darwin Harbour has increased in recent years, indicating that animals are increasingly dispersing in search of territory (Delaney et al. 2008 cited in Leach et al. 2009).”
Assessing the numbers – the count.
Counting croc numbers is not easy. I wonder how easy it is to find crocodiles and count them particularly when you consider that it took ten years to find and catch this fellow in the Katherine River.
It makes one think that just maybe the figure might be higher than we expect.
“Biggest croc ever caught in the Katherine River removed after years of evading rangers”
By Dannielle Maguire 5 months ago
“Rangers in the NT have finally caught the crocodile they’ve been hunting for nearly a decade.
The whopping 4.71m croc was caught near Katherine on Monday.
According to a statement from the Department of Tourism and Culture, he weighed almost 600kg.”
SOURCE: https://pickle.nine.com.au/2018/07/10/14/26/biggest-croc-ever-caught-in-katherine-river-nt
Question: What are the real croc numbers.
There are a few arguments:
1. Are there too many crocodiles?
2. Are there too many big, dangerous crocodiles?
3. Are they in the wrong areas, meaning too close for comfort to areas used by lots of people?
4. Is the situation likely to stay the same, get better, or get worse.
Leighton Clark