Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people
Interactions between people and the saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus frequently occur on islands and in coastal regions. Saltwater crocodiles impact people's lives and livelihoods by attacking them, resulting in minor or serious injuries, and by interfering in people's foraging activ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
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| Series: | Oryx |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S003060532300176X/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797349143039967232 |
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| author | Shankar Aswani Joshua Matanzima |
| author_facet | Shankar Aswani Joshua Matanzima |
| author_sort | Shankar Aswani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Interactions between people and the saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus frequently occur on islands and in coastal regions. Saltwater crocodiles impact people's lives and livelihoods by attacking them, resulting in minor or serious injuries, and by interfering in people's foraging activities. Retaliation may include killing the crocodiles involved. To reduce such human–crocodile interactions, data about the occurrence of incidents are required. We present data on encounters with crocodiles and attacks on people in the Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands. Data includes time of incident, gender, age and activity of the victim, water conditions and what happened to the crocodile after the incident. We used a questionnaire to capture the details of incidents that occurred during 2000–2020 in the villages of Dunde, Baraulu, Nusa Hope and Kozou. Most incidents were in the evening, mostly involving women, and most victims were aged 20–39 years or ≥ 60 years. In all cases people were attacked while gleaning for shellfish in the mangroves. Attacks occurred irrespective of whether the water was clear or murky, and in all cases the crocodiles were not killed. Such site-specific data will facilitate the formulation of strategies for reducing negative interactions between people and crocodiles in this particular location. Although the saltwater crocodile is categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, research such as this provides data that can be used for promoting coexistence with and conservation of this species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:25:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f178664b59944eaa65f65ba242e8e66 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0030-6053 1365-3008 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:25:59Z |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oryx |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f178664b59944eaa65f65ba242e8e662024-01-22T10:08:28ZengCambridge University PressOryx0030-60531365-30081310.1017/S003060532300176XHuman–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on peopleShankar Aswani0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6201-0576Joshua Matanzima1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9709-9005Rhodes University, Makhanda, South AfricaThe University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, AustraliaInteractions between people and the saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus frequently occur on islands and in coastal regions. Saltwater crocodiles impact people's lives and livelihoods by attacking them, resulting in minor or serious injuries, and by interfering in people's foraging activities. Retaliation may include killing the crocodiles involved. To reduce such human–crocodile interactions, data about the occurrence of incidents are required. We present data on encounters with crocodiles and attacks on people in the Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands. Data includes time of incident, gender, age and activity of the victim, water conditions and what happened to the crocodile after the incident. We used a questionnaire to capture the details of incidents that occurred during 2000–2020 in the villages of Dunde, Baraulu, Nusa Hope and Kozou. Most incidents were in the evening, mostly involving women, and most victims were aged 20–39 years or ≥ 60 years. In all cases people were attacked while gleaning for shellfish in the mangroves. Attacks occurred irrespective of whether the water was clear or murky, and in all cases the crocodiles were not killed. Such site-specific data will facilitate the formulation of strategies for reducing negative interactions between people and crocodiles in this particular location. Although the saltwater crocodile is categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, research such as this provides data that can be used for promoting coexistence with and conservation of this species.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S003060532300176X/type/journal_articleConflictconservationcrocodile attackCrocodylus porosuslivelihoodsnegative interactionssaltwater crocodileSolomon Islands |
| spellingShingle | Shankar Aswani Joshua Matanzima Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people Oryx Conflict conservation crocodile attack Crocodylus porosus livelihoods negative interactions saltwater crocodile Solomon Islands |
| title | Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| title_full | Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| title_fullStr | Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| title_short | Human–crocodile interactions in the western Solomon Islands: the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| title_sort | human crocodile interactions in the western solomon islands the importance of local data for reducing attacks on people |
| topic | Conflict conservation crocodile attack Crocodylus porosus livelihoods negative interactions saltwater crocodile Solomon Islands |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S003060532300176X/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shankaraswani humancrocodileinteractionsinthewesternsolomonislandstheimportanceoflocaldataforreducingattacksonpeople AT joshuamatanzima humancrocodileinteractionsinthewesternsolomonislandstheimportanceoflocaldataforreducingattacksonpeople |