Pragmatism needed to deal with crocodile threat

I am responding to a story in The Sunday Times of March 12, titled; “Let the peaceful crocs be, say wildlife conservation officials”.

This sentiment was expressed at a Colombo district environmental meeting where the presence of crocodiles in Colombo’s populated areas was discussed. Officials had stated that crocodiles lived in these populated areas for many years, and had not caused any problems.

It appears that this meeting failed to include a wider range of stakeholders that have an interest in and concerns on this matter.

One wonders how these officials would have viewed the crocodile issue if they were outdoor recreation enthusiasts who enjoyed activity by and in the waters within the greater Colombo region.

I have been discussing this matter with several wildlife, outdoor recreation and aquatic sports enthusiasts and this narrative is based on notes that drove my argument.

The crocodile presence in the urban space endangers citizens who enjoy an active outdoor type of lifestyle. The presence of a territorial ambush predator within the urban recreational space will inevitably lead to a tragedy. Animal threats to the safety of citizens is a problem that must be addressed by adopting a commonsense approach devoid of narrow thinking and emotional responses.

Sri Lanka is rich in fauna and flora and with urban space expanding rapidly, clearance of nature-rich scrub lands results in increased human-animal interaction with the bigger sized animals that require foraging space getting displaced.

I live in Hirana, Panadura in a place that overlooks the river flowing to the Bolgoda Lake. All the small and medium sized animals are encountered in this area such as common snake varieties (including pythons), monkeys, peacocks and other birds including various birds of prey (eagles, hawks and kites), hare, mongoose, civet and fishing cat, monitors (water & land) and crocodiles.

I believe that crocodiles are drawn from ‘upriver’ into the semi-urban space due to the disposal of garbage and offal from slaughtered animals.

The crocodile presence in the urban environment is detrimental to human safety and has a negative economic impact as well. Tourism is a vital industry and there is great potential for developing ‘family friendly’ aquatic recreational activity such as nature walks by the water, kayaking, paddle boarding and sailing in the semi-urban space. The presence of crocodiles only leads to fear and cessation of activity in such waters.

The authorities should not wait for a crocodile attack to think about addressing a serious human safety matter. They must take preemptive action. Placing signs such as “beware of crocodiles” at an aquatic recreational location is a sure way to dampen enthusiasm for outdoor activity.

The way to approach this matter is to designate semi-urban aquatic locations as family recreational space. Any threats posed by large aggressive animals present in the zone such as crocodiles could be eliminated by trapping and relocation or permitted culling for meat. The trapping and relocation option is expensive. Allowing the locals to capture crocodiles for meat would be the most economic.

If crocodile culling is opposed on the grounds that they are protected animals, one must recognise that ‘protection’ applies in the natural habitat of these animals at the present time and not to one that intrudes into the urban space endangering human life. The claim that crocodiles had lived in these populated areas for many years, and not caused any problems is not a valid one today. The use of aquatic recreational space in the urban environment must be encouraged and steps taken to ensure the safety of those that participate in this activity.

There may be some that express concerns about the protection of wildlife and inflicting cruelty on animals. According to a recent news report in the Daily Mirror (February 17, 2023 – “Permission granted to kill some animals including monkeys, peacocks, grizzled giant squirrels: Amaraweera”, farmers were authorised to kill wild animals. What if crocodiles raided crops?

I hope common sense will prevail and a solution to this problem will be devised as soon as possible.