Croc kills diver - Dehiwala, Sri Lanka

[drk5036]

I’ve dove outside of Columbo, near this area. Crocs wouldn’t have been the first of my worries. First would have been “is the air good?” (Wish I’d had a CO detector at that time). Second was that despite not having deco training we all nearly went into deco (my girlfriend did and didn’t know how to read her computer…sigh). With a 31 meter floor on a square profile, it’s not hard to get yourself into deco, and the DM did do a stop before surfacing I noticed. Third was the DM wanting us to follow him through the wreck that looked pitch black inside to me (I stayed outside). Finally, the end of the briefing was about what we should do if pirates come.

Then, after our dive, the boats engine wouldn’t start and we had to get picked up by another boat. Whoops.

But the wrecks were spectacular, and the water was warm and clear with no current and lots of fish. Life is full of tradeoffs!

 

[Rick Brant]

What is an "ornamental fisherman"? If it is what I think it is then bravo to the croc.

 

[drrich2]

If it's someone catching wild ornamental fish for the aquarium pet trade, I get that this is controversial and a problem in some places, but be mindful we don't know what he caught (whether threatened/endangered), or what he knew about it.

We also don't know what jobs and opportunities were available to him, or how great his need was. It's easy to judge when we haven't walked a mile in his shoes. If he made a living diving in crocodile habitat, his options may've been pretty limited.

It's said people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Many Americans work for companies that generate a lot of pollution, and lead rather high consumption lifestyles compared to many people in the rest of the world. I imagine many of us have a 'carbon foot print' that would dwarf this guy's.

Finally...this isn't just some story. This was a real person and somebody's Dad who got killed in a horrible way.

 

[Skeptic14]

This thread reminds me of something I've always found curious, how there's a different view for different apex predators and what interaction with humans is acceptable.

Divers typically are eager to see sharks (even big species) whereas I think voluntarily coming into close (similar) contact with other apex predators like bear, tiger, lion, crocodile or even non-predator but just large wildlife (bison) is viewed very differently.

How much of this is based on real scientific evidence vs chance / anecdote?

 

[dmaziuk]

...
I read elsewhere that irukandji are very dangerous if you can't get treated quickly, except on one island where kids play with them as they're not venomous there.

Last I heard there were several species, some kill you in a minute or so, so "treated quickly" is never quick enough. Then there's one that it's a toss-up whether it's the pain pain, or morphine, that kills you.

Anecdotally, the stories about crocodile attack down under tend to start with "well there's this American, she's told `don't swim there, there be crocs`, and splash she goes".

 

[boulderjohn]

This thread reminds me of something I've always found curious, how there's a different view for different apex predators and what interaction with humans is acceptable.

Divers typically are eager to see sharks (even big species) whereas I think voluntarily coming into close (similar) contact with other apex predators like bear, tiger, lion, crocodile or even non-predator but just large wildlife (bison) is viewed very differently.

How much of this is based on real scientific evidence vs chance / anecdote?

How we behave around large predators is indeed a good question. On land, I am going to be very wary if I am in a place where I might encounter a bear, tiger, lion, mountain lion, etc. It does not have to be a predator. I am going to be very wary with a moose or a bison nearby. I need to be smart enough to know what can happen with a creature like that. I have enough knowledge from education and experience to know this.

As for sharks, the movie Jaws came out long before I considered scuba diving, and it certainly did make me afraid to go in the ocean. As time has gone by, though, education and experience has taught me that I have far less to fear than most people would think. I know, for example, that there are nearly no verified accounts of sharks attacking divers at depth, other than spear hunters with a kill, and those are usually going after the hunter's kill. Every time I have been near a large shark, it swims away. My education and training tells me that I don't have to be quite as wary about them.

So what about crocodiles? My knowledge about them, limited as it is, tells me to treat them as I would lions and tigers and bears. If I knew a large saltwater crocodile had been spotted in the water where I intended to dive, I would not go in. If a large shark were seen, I would get in as soon as possible.

 

[Rick Brant]

If it's someone catching wild ornamental fish for the aquarium pet trade, I get that this is controversial and a problem in some places, but be mindful we don't know what he caught (whether threatened/endangered), or what he knew about it.

We also don't know what jobs and opportunities were available to him, or how great his need was. It's easy to judge when we haven't walked a mile in his shoes. If he made a living diving in crocodile habitat, his options may've been pretty limited.

It's said people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Many Americans work for companies that generate a lot of pollution, and lead rather high consumption lifestyles compared to many people in the rest of the world. I imagine many of us have a 'carbon foot print' that would dwarf this guy's.

Finally...this isn't just some story. This was a real person and somebody's Dad who got killed in a horrible way.

I mostly agree with you, but personally I don't favor the human over the croc. Sounds like they were both just trying to eat. One just used a more direct approach.

 

[Dan]

Healthy, capable tigers usually don't prey on humans

My family hunted wild boars when I still lived in Indonesia. They were like pest, tearing up corn field. One day a village leader who helped us on the hunt, came to our home and reported that there was a leopard that had been stealing goats from his village. We went and trapped the leopard. It was an old leopard with missing canine tooth and too weak to look for wild prey and prefer to hunt for an easier prey, the villager goats.

 

[Dan]

So, for people traveling to parts of Australia, Indonesia, PNG and the Solomon Islands, is 'crocodile awareness' something that ought to be called out as meriting special attention?

If you plan to visit Raja Ampat, I know a couple places that you need be aware of. Just DM me when the time comes.

 

[Vicko]

I can't believe that there are crocodile apologists on the internet too.
It's a intelligent, wild predator that does not migrate often. There are cases of Nile crocodiles learning how to hunt humans and I don't think that the locals would find a scientific study in saltwater croc human hunting habits very ethical, so they will either relocate him or "relocate" him, if it's even possible to trap it that is.