By: JOE FERNANDEZ
THE lack of a proper water supply system in the great rural heartland of Sabah has made villagers a favourite target for crocodile attacks, of which 38 were reported in recent years involving 23 fatalities, but countless cases go unreported in the more remote locations.
The reptile has been classified as an endangered species in Sabah since 1982 despite there being three crocodiles in the state for every one kilometre of riverbank, according to wildlife statistics. Saltwater crocodiles, Crocodylus Porosus, can reach six metres in length and weigh over a tonne.
"One of the simplest ways to avoid the attacks is to give people a good water supply system," said Associate Prof Abdul Hamid Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). "It is not good enough to just give them water tanks."
He was joining the ongoing public debate on the need to reduce the growing number of human-crocodile conflicts in the state.
Hamid, who has researched the subject at the UMS' Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, said water tanks are not adequate and even less so during dry spells and droughts.
"This forces the villagers to turn to rivers as a water source, making them easy targets for the crocodiles," said Hamid. "Most of the attacks take place during the dark, either very early in the morning or in the late evening."
The crocodile attacks take place, according to Hamid, during the times when villagers turn to the rivers the most, either before school or to wash up after a hard day's work. The womenfolk also use the rivers for collecting water, washing clothes and for bathing. Others use the rivers for swimming or fishing.
The Paitan River in Lahad Datu for example, where there are 29 villages along its banks, "is a time-bomb waiting to explode", cited Hamid as a case in point. "Depleting fish in the rivers is forcing the crocodiles to widen their search beyond the usual menu."
Crocs running out of traditional food sources
While water woes force villagers in Sabah to turn to the rivers, the crocodiles themselves are turning on humans as they run out of their traditional food sources. Hamid blames the increasing pollution in the rivers, caused by upstream land-use activities like forest clearing and oil palm plantations, as the main reason for the waterways running out as a source of food for crocodiles.
"When a river is polluted, there must be an impact on the biology of the waterway and system," said Hamid.
The Klias River near Beaufort, continues Hamid, has an even bigger population of crocodiles than Paitan but attacks are rare because "the villagers have access to a good water supply system".
Also, fewer people live along the Klias than in Paitan where the houses are in fact right by the river bank.
Besides Paitan, most crocodile attacks have been recorded by Hamid along the Kinabatangan (left) - Malaysia's longest river after the Rejang in Sarawak and which regularly hosts crocodile cruises Kalumpang (Tawau), and Segaliud (Sandakan).
The Kalabakan, a very long river which is fronted by oil palm plantations all along the waterway, is polluted as well, but for some strange reason has seen fewer crocodile attacks and is still the subject of a UMS study on crocodile conservation. The crocodile population in the river is quite high.
Crocodiles known to have attacked and devoured a human victim are trapped by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and handed over to the villagers concerned. "They would then kill the crocodile to recover the remains of the victim," said SWD deputy director Augustine Tuuga. "We are of course never quite sure if the crocodile we trapped is the correct one."
Increasingly sighted in small rivers
What worries the SWD is that crocodiles are now being increasingly sighted in small tributaries and small rivers where they are usually not found. The department sees this as increasing the potential for human-crocodile conflict which has emerged as a top concern in the state.
SWD director Laurentius Nayan Ambu chipped in that crocodiles breed in estuaries where there are an estimated stable population of 12,000 to 15,000.
"People passing by the place could trigger the reptile's maternal instincts to protect its babies," he said. "This could also result in the attacks on humans."
"Some of the victims are reckless and do as they like even though they know that there are crocodiles in an area.
The riverbanks in the state, meanwhile, are "recovered" with a stable community of secondary growth including grasses and herbs used by female crocodiles for nest construction, according to Laurentius. "This has meant an increase in crocodile sightings followed by an increase in the seriousness of incidents involving them."
Laurentius identified the Silabukan and Segama, both in Lahad Datu, and Pitas (Kota Marudu) as additional hot spots along with rivers in the Kunak district, besides those waterways identified by Hamid.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun (right) stressed that the Sabah government "encourages crocodile farming as long as the activity does not affect the populace in the wild".
"This is to meet the demand for meat and skin," said Masidi.
Sabah exports raw crocodile skins to Singapore and the dried meat to Hong Kong. The meat can also be sold fresh for the local market. Each skin from a four-year-old can fetch up to RM 1,000 in the export market.
The crocodile's back is normally used for making items like belts while the skin from the belly can be made into handbags. Then, there is crocodile oil which is used in massage and to relieve rheumatism, mosquito bites and in burns and scalding.
Malaysia has only five licensed crocodile farms. Three of them - in Tuaran, Sandakan and Langkawi - are owned by the Chai family. They have about 10,000 crocodiles on their three farms, according to Sandakan Crocodile Farm Sdn Bhd director Jon Chai.
THE lack of a proper water supply system in the great rural heartland of Sabah has made villagers a favourite target for crocodile attacks, of which 38 were reported in recent years involving 23 fatalities, but countless cases go unreported in the more remote locations.
The reptile has been classified as an endangered species in Sabah since 1982 despite there being three crocodiles in the state for every one kilometre of riverbank, according to wildlife statistics. Saltwater crocodiles, Crocodylus Porosus, can reach six metres in length and weigh over a tonne.
"One of the simplest ways to avoid the attacks is to give people a good water supply system," said Associate Prof Abdul Hamid Ahmad of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). "It is not good enough to just give them water tanks."
He was joining the ongoing public debate on the need to reduce the growing number of human-crocodile conflicts in the state.
Hamid, who has researched the subject at the UMS' Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, said water tanks are not adequate and even less so during dry spells and droughts.
"This forces the villagers to turn to rivers as a water source, making them easy targets for the crocodiles," said Hamid. "Most of the attacks take place during the dark, either very early in the morning or in the late evening."
The crocodile attacks take place, according to Hamid, during the times when villagers turn to the rivers the most, either before school or to wash up after a hard day's work. The womenfolk also use the rivers for collecting water, washing clothes and for bathing. Others use the rivers for swimming or fishing.
The Paitan River in Lahad Datu for example, where there are 29 villages along its banks, "is a time-bomb waiting to explode", cited Hamid as a case in point. "Depleting fish in the rivers is forcing the crocodiles to widen their search beyond the usual menu."
Crocs running out of traditional food sources
While water woes force villagers in Sabah to turn to the rivers, the crocodiles themselves are turning on humans as they run out of their traditional food sources. Hamid blames the increasing pollution in the rivers, caused by upstream land-use activities like forest clearing and oil palm plantations, as the main reason for the waterways running out as a source of food for crocodiles.
"When a river is polluted, there must be an impact on the biology of the waterway and system," said Hamid.
The Klias River near Beaufort, continues Hamid, has an even bigger population of crocodiles than Paitan but attacks are rare because "the villagers have access to a good water supply system".
Also, fewer people live along the Klias than in Paitan where the houses are in fact right by the river bank.
Besides Paitan, most crocodile attacks have been recorded by Hamid along the Kinabatangan (left) - Malaysia's longest river after the Rejang in Sarawak and which regularly hosts crocodile cruises Kalumpang (Tawau), and Segaliud (Sandakan).
The Kalabakan, a very long river which is fronted by oil palm plantations all along the waterway, is polluted as well, but for some strange reason has seen fewer crocodile attacks and is still the subject of a UMS study on crocodile conservation. The crocodile population in the river is quite high.
Crocodiles known to have attacked and devoured a human victim are trapped by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and handed over to the villagers concerned. "They would then kill the crocodile to recover the remains of the victim," said SWD deputy director Augustine Tuuga. "We are of course never quite sure if the crocodile we trapped is the correct one."
Increasingly sighted in small rivers
What worries the SWD is that crocodiles are now being increasingly sighted in small tributaries and small rivers where they are usually not found. The department sees this as increasing the potential for human-crocodile conflict which has emerged as a top concern in the state.
SWD director Laurentius Nayan Ambu chipped in that crocodiles breed in estuaries where there are an estimated stable population of 12,000 to 15,000.
"People passing by the place could trigger the reptile's maternal instincts to protect its babies," he said. "This could also result in the attacks on humans."
"Some of the victims are reckless and do as they like even though they know that there are crocodiles in an area.
The riverbanks in the state, meanwhile, are "recovered" with a stable community of secondary growth including grasses and herbs used by female crocodiles for nest construction, according to Laurentius. "This has meant an increase in crocodile sightings followed by an increase in the seriousness of incidents involving them."
Laurentius identified the Silabukan and Segama, both in Lahad Datu, and Pitas (Kota Marudu) as additional hot spots along with rivers in the Kunak district, besides those waterways identified by Hamid.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun (right) stressed that the Sabah government "encourages crocodile farming as long as the activity does not affect the populace in the wild".
"This is to meet the demand for meat and skin," said Masidi.
Sabah exports raw crocodile skins to Singapore and the dried meat to Hong Kong. The meat can also be sold fresh for the local market. Each skin from a four-year-old can fetch up to RM 1,000 in the export market.
The crocodile's back is normally used for making items like belts while the skin from the belly can be made into handbags. Then, there is crocodile oil which is used in massage and to relieve rheumatism, mosquito bites and in burns and scalding.
Malaysia has only five licensed crocodile farms. Three of them - in Tuaran, Sandakan and Langkawi - are owned by the Chai family. They have about 10,000 crocodiles on their three farms, according to Sandakan Crocodile Farm Sdn Bhd director Jon Chai.
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