Croc menace: From near extinction to overpopulation

Borneo Post

4 days ago

Photo published by The Borneo Post earlier this year shows a group of friends with a 10-foot crocodile caught in Kampung Dagang in Miri.
ACCORDING to a recent statement by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), the estimated crocodile population in Sarawak stands at approximately 25,000, based on extensive habitat surveys and ongoing monitoring efforts.
These reptiles are found in waterways throughout the state's 4,500km of river systems and 40 river basins, which means there is an average of more than five crocodiles per kilometre of river in Sarawak.
This alarmingly high density of inevitably led to an increase in human-crocodile conflicts.
Based on SFC press releases and media reports, between 2020 and 2023 there were 108 complaints of close encounters with these predators, including five attacks resulting in four fatalities.
This year will go down as the worst year of crocodile fatal attacks in recent memories as it began ominously with one of a fisherman at Pulau Bruit in Matu-Daro District.
Then in March, a man collecting clams along a riverbank in Simunjan was killed by a crocodile.
Another tragedy struck on June 27 when a man fishing in Matang was dragged into the river. Parts of his body were found on several locations on the riverbank a few days later.
Eleven days later, on July 8, another fatal attack on a man occurred at Kampung Pandam in Limbang.
Then on July 12, a man escaped from the jaws of a crocodile after he was dragged into the water by poking the eye of the reptile at Loagan Tebabui, Kuala Tutoh Marudi.
Ironically, the proliferation of crocodiles in the state's waterways is a result of measures taken to protect them from humans.
In the 1980s, crocodile numbers in Sarawak plummeted, raising concerns that they might disappear entirely from the state's waterways. The reasons expounded for its drastic drop was loss of habitat due to human encroachment into its breeding area and over hunting.
As a result, crocodiles were listed under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 and subsequently included under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)—a treaty to which Malaysia is a signatory.
Initially, crocodiles were placed under CITES Appendix I, which prohibits hunting for commercial trade. Ostensibly this ban led to a population rebound and by 2014, their numbers had grown to 13,500.
Consequently, in 2016, the status was downgraded to CITES Appendix II, allowing for regulated trade and controlled culling in high-risk areas like Batang Lupar and Batang Samarahan under SFC permits.
However, it is doubtful that the drop of crocodile population in the 1980s was due to overhunting as local taboos among indigenous people of Sarawak, especially the Ibans, the Melanaus and the Malays who live by the rivers and sea, regard them with reverence and fear.
They believe that these predators would attack anyone who kill one of them, or exact revenge on their descendants.
There was also minimal hunting the reptiles for trade as the skin of adult crocodiles in the wild is of little value because it is too coarse.
Loss of habitat was the main reason for the drastic decline of crocodiles in the 1980s as before the massive development of road infrastructure in the state, river travel was the only mode of transportation for riverine towns, settlements and longhouses.
Every day, the water in the rivers were churned up by the wakes of ships, launches, barges, ferries and boats powered by outboard engines transporting good and passengers, making it difficult for crocodiles to nest and breed.
Former Saratok assemblyman Datuk Peter Nyarok observed that once roads were built connecting longhouses and settlements to the state's main truck road, river transport was abandoned.
As a result, people living upriver of the Krian River in his constituency stopped using it to go to town and the river, which was once a hive of activities, was left undisturbed—making it an ideal breeding ground for crocodiles.
In a twist of fate, improved infrastructure inadvertently created the perfect conditions for crocodile resurgence, creating a growing crisis that would demand urgent action.
One of SFC's strategies is to relocate captured crocodiles to sanctuaries such as Pulau Seduku in the Batang Lupar and the Rajang Mangrove National Park. However, relocation is challenging due to the elusive nature of crocodiles and low success rates in capturing them.
High crocodile concentrations at a specific area can also cause territorial disputes and food scarcity, prompting some to migrate to new areas, defeating the purpose of relocation.
The obvious solution is culling but with an estimated 25,000 crocodiles spread across 4,500km of rivers and 40 river basins, culling is a monumental task that cannot be undertaken by SFC alone. Public cooperation and inter-agency collaboration are crucial.
SFC has formed a SWAT team to respond to crocodile attacks and conduct follow up operation to hunt the crocodile. Despite their best efforts, the corporation sometimes faces criticism as grieving relatives and locals complain about the response from the SWAT team coming only after a tragedy has occurred.
To be fair to the SWAT team, crocodiles are sighted daily in rivers and sometimes even in drains within a housing area throughout the state and most of the time, these sightings are not reported until tragedy strikes.
A notable step taken by SFC is erecting warning signs at locations with frequent crocodile sightings, especially where human activity overlaps with crocodile habitats.
Early this month, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Len Talif Salleh urged the public to download the 'Sarawak CrocWatch' app set up by SFC to report crocodile sightings, to help SFC identify high-risk areas and gather data.
Whatever measures taken now, the population of crocodiles in Sarawak waterways will remain at the present worrying level in the foreseeable future, so the best option is to take the pragmatic step of raising public caution and vigilance. crocodile extinction overpopulation