Since the early 1980s I’ve been taking birders to this area of the Adelaide River, mainly looking for Mangrove Golden Whistler. Having more experience with crocodiles than most, I’m very careful with clients. Firstly I scout the area to ensure no crocs are lying under the trees, and then I keep clients keep several metres away from banks. Occasionally twitchers behave stupidly, one of the reasons why I’m not very keen on taking some of them. Jim Zimmer of San Diego made me tell his birding club what I say to such people! My Aboriginal son, Reverend P. Nganjmirra, a traditional Kunwinjku man, said there were more big crocodiles around now that in his grandfather’s time, probably because of the introduction of stock. Whether there is now a reduction of cattle, buffalo and horses I don’t know. But from the attack on the South Alligator River recently, where a man was dragged out of his dinghy it seems that some crocodiles may be targeting the next biggest item in the food chain. Anyway, I suggest that birders be very careful when around Top End waterways. Avoid hiring small dinghies for a start, and no matter what the twitch don’t go near the water! Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835
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Hi Alan, I was camped at the old camping ground, a couple of hundred metres from Uluru (Ayers Rock), from late August to early September 1979 (birds observed submitted to the first atlas) and was amazed that not only did dingoes come past the tents every day, but that campers also fed them! That was about a year before the Chamberlain incident. I consequently did not fear the seemingly semi-tame dingoes as I roamed the area during the day and spot-lighted around Uluru during the night. I had hoped to see pythons around the rocks at night, but had to make do with Brush-tailed Possums in the canopies of the trees at the base of Uluru. Sadly, the possums are now thought to be extinct in the area! Also had Derek Roff drive me to a site at which he had found the Pied Honeyeater nesting; he was proud to say that he was saving the site up for the legendary Roy Wheeler’s upcoming visit to Uluru. Cheers, Charlie Charles Silveira Melbourne —–Original Message—– Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 8:34 AM Cc: Birding Aus Greetings, Derek Roff, or a name like that, was the head ranger at Uluru at the time of the Chamberlin death and had been trying to stop feeding of dingoes by motel operators & tourists. Regards, Alan
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I’m waiting for the cartoon in the paper that shows a croc pulling someone out of a dinghy with the croc saying “tastes like chicken.” It seems obvious to the point of silliness that training wild animals to come for food…will teach them to come for food! Shark dive operators also make implausible, self-serving arguments about what a good idea it is to chum the water and attract a lot of sharks to show the divers. (“Divers, meet sharks. Sharks, meet divers.”) There are any number of people around the world with magical-seeming, “special” connections to wild or captive-raised predators and other dangerous large animals. Some last years or even a lifetime without a serious problem, others die horribly. I once saw a doco featuring a woman that had a “special ability” to get close to hippos, a very dangerous animal. She went out in small kayaks and moved quietly and non-threateningly. Amazing footage. Scene opens: She’s explaining her technique to a cameraman on shore, then she sets off in her kayak. Screen to black. Next scene: Shot from the foot of the woman’s hospital bed with seemingly every limb in traction. All she could talk about was her shock at how she had been attacked by a hippo. It looked like it troubled her even more than her horrific injuries. A bit of googling turns up endless tales of “legendary” guides being killed by animals after years in the field.
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And greetings to you Alan Yes, I remember Derek. But I also understand that there was one ranger who had the suspect dingo at his house. Incidentally most of my involvement was through a Larrakia elder (my sister-in-law) who received a message from Walbiri relatives asking if I could help. And I collated evidence of dingo and jackal attacks for Dr. Paul Wilson, the criminologist. Regards Denise Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835 On 20 Aug 2014, at 8:04 am, Alan Gillanders < alan@alanswildlifetours.com.au > wrote:
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Greetings, Derek Roff, or a name like that, was the head ranger at Uluru at the time of the Chamberlin death and had been trying to stop feeding of dingoes by motel operators & tourists. Regards, Alan
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Yes certainly agree – the crocodile guy in the video forged a bond with a crocodile through an extraordinary experience, which is miraculous evidence that crocodiles are capable of breaking the “everything they can overpower is food” role; but we need only look at how they treat their hatchlings for that. I don’t in any way believe that feeding crocodiles is likely to make them kind toward humans (come on – the statement was pure tongue in cheek wishful thinking) – yet it’d still be a better world if they didn’t bite the hand that feeds them – wouldn’t it. I’ve looked at the footage over the years of crocodiles easily emerging from the water to great heights for food and cringed, and I just don’t understand how so many folk are so flippant with the north-end’s waterways. As Denise has outlined below, and most of us on this forum know already, we have to be very careful about what we feed and how much – managing for better habitat is a far better way to give wildlife a leg up, especially in our own backyards. It is just such a terrible shame 3 people have paid with their lives this year, for not taking the crocodile threat seriously – feel so sorry for their families. The difference in shooting crocodiles (read hostile behaviour toward them – I’m not advocating that here, although it may sometimes be part of necessary management straties), as in previous years, and feeding/making them a tourist commodity appears to have made them less fearful of people. With such a powerful, yet still wild!!, animal that can’t be a good thing. Regards, Allan On 20/08/2014, at 4:20 AM, Denise Goodfellow wrote:
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I shouldn’t think it makes them less likely to attack humans, whatever the tour operator thinks. Some of the birds on our property were fed for 25 years before we arrived and they certainly associate people with food. Several years ago my daughter and I were attacked by large Antilopine Wallaroos at a wildlife park while we were feeding ducks. One snatched the bag of bread from Amber’s hand. We only escaped unharmed because I punched the kangaroo in the nose as it went to bring its hind legs up. The feeding of kites and goannas is discouraged in Top End parks because of injuries caused to visitors. Clients and I were bailed up by two Mertens Water Monitors at a Top End waterhole once – they were fed regularly, or fed on food scraps left behind by tourists. And if I remember correctly the suspect dingo in the Chamberlain case had been fed by tourists (and I think, rangers) for some years. Similarly with the dingoes on Fraser Island – remember they killed a child some years ago. Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835 On 20 Aug 2014, at 2:35 am, Peter Shute < pshute@nuw.org.au> wrote:
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Does feeding them make them less likely to attack humans? I would have thought it would tech them to associate them with food. Peter Shute Sent from my iPad
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Shame the years of feeding haven’t changed the way of the crocodiles like the one in the video below. The news said the crocodile that took the man had been fed for many years. Allan On 19/08/2014, at 6:42 PM, Denise Goodfellow via Birding-Aus wrote:
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I often saw fishermen and their spouses sitting on the bank where this man was taken. They usually identified themselves as Vietnamese. Although I always warned them about crocodiles I never saw them change their behaviour. Denise Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835 On 19 Aug 2014, at 5:03 pm, martin cachard < mcachard@hotmail.com> wrote:
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Yes he did wade into the river, I believe. In another recent attack a bloke was apparently dragged out of his dinghy. I’ve heard several reports of people who live in the area, including children, being lunged at by crocodiles as they fished or stood on the landings or the banks. In the past a few residents have told me they’ve complained about the cruises for this reason. Denise Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835 On 19 Aug 2014, at 2:09 pm, Jeremy O’Wheel < owheelj@gmail.com> wrote:
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ABC news are reporting that there’s never been a person attacked in a boat at Adelaide River, and that the fisherman in the last attack had waded into the river to un-snag his fishing line. Jeremy On 19 August 2014 14:04, Charles Hunter via Birding-Aus < birding-aus@birding-aus.org> wrote:
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Hi Denise, When I was in the Top End last year I visited the Adelaide River and did the croc cruises. I was amazed (like most people on the boat) at how high the 4 metre plus crocodiles could jump to get the chickens attached to the rope. After seeing crocodiles behave in this manner, I personally would never fish (or bird watch) in a tinny in any parts of northern Australia. After the croc cruise we stopped at other parts of the Adelaide River and saw many crocodiles….. Two weeks ago Dad and I saw a 4m plus croc in one of the permanent water holes in Lakefield N.P. (Queensland). At Iron Range N.P. a couple of days later the Ranger told us to be very careful bird watching close to the deep pools in the rivers and streams due to crocs (even in the dry season). Cheers, Charles Since the early 1980s I’ve been taking birders to this area of the Adelaide River, mainly looking for Mangrove Golden Whistler. Having more experience with crocodiles than most, I’m very careful with clients. Firstly I scout the area to ensure no crocs are lying under the trees, and then I keep clients keep several metres away from banks. Occasionally twitchers behave stupidly, one of the reasons why I’m not very keen on taking some of them. Jim Zimmer of San Diego made me tell his birding club what I say to such people! My Aboriginal son, Reverend P. Nganjmirra, a traditional Kunwinjku man, said there were more big crocodiles around now that in his grandfather’s time, probably because of the introduction of stock. Whether there is now a reduction of cattle, buffalo and horses I don’t know. But from the attack on the South Alligator River recently, where a man was dragged out of his dinghy it seems that some crocodiles may be targeting the next biggest item in the food chain. Anyway, I suggest that birders be very careful when around Top End waterways. Avoid hiring small dinghies for a start, and no matter what the twitch don’t go near the water! Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate goodfellow@bigpond.com.au Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Founding Member: Australian Federation of Graduate Women Northern Territory 043 8650 835
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