Australia seeks ways to control 23 foot killer crocodiles
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SYDNEY - Australia's Northern Territory may allow the collection of more crocodile eggs and limited safari hunts of the reptiles — but not a large-scale slaughter — following a spate of fatal attacks on humans, its government said Wednesday.
A five-year management proposal released Wednesday would allow up to 50,000 crocodile eggs to be collected, up from the current limit of 35,000, and expand the monitoring and trapping area outside the territory's capital of Darwin.
The program will not allow mass killings of saltwater crocodiles and is not designed to drastically reduce their numbers, territory Environment Minister Alison Anderson said. She stressed that crocodiles were a fact of life in northern Australia and that any management plan would not prevent attacks.
The Northern Territory is estimated to have 80,000 saltwater crocodiles, the highest number in Australia. Saltwater crocodiles, the world's largest reptile, grow up to 23 feet long. They are more likely to attack humans than the smaller freshwater crocodiles that also inhabit the area.
A five-year management proposal released Wednesday would allow up to 50,000 crocodile eggs to be collected, up from the current limit of 35,000, and expand the monitoring and trapping area outside the territory's capital of Darwin.
The program will not allow mass killings of saltwater crocodiles and is not designed to drastically reduce their numbers, territory Environment Minister Alison Anderson said. She stressed that crocodiles were a fact of life in northern Australia and that any management plan would not prevent attacks.
The Northern Territory is estimated to have 80,000 saltwater crocodiles, the highest number in Australia. Saltwater crocodiles, the world's largest reptile, grow up to 23 feet long. They are more likely to attack humans than the smaller freshwater crocodiles that also inhabit the area.
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