Showing posts with label alligators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alligators. Show all posts

The Biggest African Nile Gustavo crocodile leads while the Crocodile Dandee follows

October 25, 2011 for the latest animal attacks news click on the link  below

World's top Latest wild Animal Attack News around the world


The Largest African Nile crocodile in the world


Way back in the Eocene Epoch era, the Largest African Nile Crocodile was already destined to be hatched among the greatest African fresh water rivers infested with man eating deadly crocodiles. 

From the crocodile and the alligator family Africa was blessed with this monster crocodile which has not only been the center of all crocodiles in Africa and the world but among the crocodile world and among the Africa’s  Hole of Fame among being the Great Lake Victoria which is infested with giant Hippopotamus, the biggest Tilapia fish in the world which is the source of River Nile,  the longest river in Africa notably the River Nile, The famous great Pyramids along the River Nile in Egypt natural wonder of the world: the  biggest natural land formation being the Great Eastern and Western Rift Valley which is a natural habitat for all the beautiful flora and fauna of the African Continent.


The Largest crocodile an ambush predator
With the Nile crocodiles figures reaching around 250000 to 500000, these sharp African crocodiles have managed to attack scores of people and the largest crocodile in the African continent has lived to its name being the worlds worst and deadliest crocodile in the world: Gustavo. 

Like any other crocodile, Gustavo the largest Nile crocodile comes from the Crocodylidae species. Being a true crocodile, Gustavo like any other great Crocodylus niloticus was  hatched in the crocodile habitat south of the Sahara desert where most of the deadly Nile crocodile are roam the African rivers, lakes, wetlands ponds and estuaries. Today many of the African Nile crocodiles are not in the endangered species list as crocodile hunting for its skin and meat has been restricted by many international bodies of animal protection which has resulted in proper data collection and monitoring of the Nile crocodile species.

Hunting tactics adapted to swimming and camouflage along the crocodile rivers
While In Burundi by the year 2004 Gustavo with plenty of food to eat and maturing with age, this great Nile crocodile was cloaking almost 60 years old measuring around 6.1 meters in length weighing approximately 1000kgs. Gustavo became to be known as the largest crocodile ever in Africa.


Gustavo became to be known as a man-eating crocodile as his sheer size and weight could not be sustained by the small fish to satisfy his huge appetite and also him being in the top hierarchy of the crocodile habitat in its native waters. Gustavo was well acquainted  with these waters and could swim for miles as is the case with most crocodiles in search of females to mate and the urge to explore and expand its territory.

The supper size crocodile fore test carnivorous appetite of man

This Super size Nile crocodile resorted into claiming and  attack bigger preys mainly larger zebras, water buffalo, hippopotamus, wildebeest and people who waded the infested waters which were full of these dangerous animals. While rumors has it that this greatest Nile crocodile started to get accustomed to eating people as a result of the people who were thrown in many along the rivers during the Burundi civil war


Back in the mid 1950s the largest saltwater crocodile in the world ever  hunted down “Krys the Savannah King” was shot on the head in 1957 by Krystina Pawlowski on the banks of the Norman River. An 8.64m alleged replica of a crocodile shot in the area in the 1950s sits proudly on the town's main street. Gustavo also faced the same fate. With many attacks on top of its list, this killer crocodile was being pursued to be put down. Spears, arrows and guns were used to subdue Niloticus crocodile but the Nile crocodile proved to be the winner. The crocodiles head has bullet marks one on his head and three on his right side with wounds which which have healed and have a lot of history to tell

Territorial predator and scavenger
Being able to adopt in fresh water, the  saltwater crocodile cousins are on top of being the largest from the rest of the crocodile species as they can swim perfectly well in search of small any marine animals big or small for its appetite in any of the Indian, Australia and the far East waters.  Booth in Asia and Australia some staggering saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) of 6 metres (20 ft) long are also topping the list among the longest crocodiles in the world. A glimpse of individuals astonishing lengths  of 7 meters  long crocodiles have been put on record.  Once again the  eastern parts of  India according to the Guinness Book of World Records has entered and confirmed the existence of a 7 meters salt water crocodiles as some of the biggest crocodiles in the world.

Despite the fact that the largest Nile crocodile is still on the lose among the African rivers, case of crocodile attacks will keep on coming up as people become aware of the giant African killer crocodile is till on the run out there.  Will Gustavo still be the largest African crocodile as time goes bye just like the famous Crocodile Dandee? Well only time will tell as the crocodile habitat gradually comes into contact with man during fishing, farming and transportation the crocodile movements will have to be put under check as in many parts where Gustavo set foot, scores of people lost their lives. With the existing crocodile farming, we are yet to see many more larger crocodiles with time both in captivity and in many crocodile and animal sanctuaries and national parks. 
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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 5

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.



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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 4

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.



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CrocLog Podcast - Episode 3

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

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

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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