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Crocodiles Were The Original Surfers
Research from a group of Australian ecologists published in the English Ecological Society’s “Journal of Animal Ecology“, discloses how the world’s largest living reptile came to be located in so many different islands in the South Pacific, in spite of having little resilience for swimming.
Hamish Campbell, a University of Queensland ecologist and author of the study, said “Like a surfer catching a wave, river Crocodiles, which can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters), can ride currents and cross hundreds of miles of open sea.”
Working with environmentalist and television personality Steve Irwin, aka the Crocodile Hunter, who was killed by a stingray barb off Queensland in 2006, the investigation began in 2002, in the tropics of Australia’s Queensland state.
Using sonar transmitters and underwater receivers to track their movements over one year, the team tagged 27 adult crocodiles in the remote Kennedy River region.
Campbell stated that a 20-minute swim is difficult for a crocodile, so he was amazed that eight of the tagged crocodiles constantly completed long trips out to sea from their river home area that was approximately 35 miles (60 kilometers) inland.
“It did seem unlikely that they were swimming the entire way and when we looked at residual surface currents from satellite images, you could see quite clearly that they were indeed following the current systems,” Campbell said.
One 13-foot (3.8-meter) male swam 367 miles (590 kilometers) covering 25 days, to enter another river system, where it rested for seven months before returning back again.
Campbell stated “Why he went there, we have absolutely no idea, but it seems very deliberate, purposeful movements”.
The study discovered that currents could carry crocodiles, which can survive for months without fresh or water food, over vast tracks of ocean. It also explains why the same species of estuarine crocodile is found in many different nations, separated by the sea.
Zoologist Grahame Webb, an Australian crocodile expert and independent of the study, warmly greeted the research, as being the first demonstration of how crocodiles use ocean currents.
Webb said “Long distances voyages at sea have always been a bit rare with crocs, and people have suspected that currents played a part. The research shows they’re much more mobile than people realize”.
A 20-minute struggle in a trap has the ability to kill a crocodile, because exertion causes a rapid buildup of lactic acid in their blood. Large crocodiles are very powerful, but tire quickly.
Estuarine crocodiles mainly exist in rivers and mangroves in a range extending over more than 3,800 square miles (10,000 square kilometers) of the Southeast Pacific, from Australia to China and from Fiji to India.
Some Solomon Island crocodiles were discovered in Vanuatu, a distance of around 1000 kms. It is believed the crocs became lost during a cyclone.
About the Author
For more information about Crocodiles Were The Original Surfers, visit website http://www.tropicpost.com/original-surfer-a-crocodile/ Rick and Wendy are CEO’s of YouMe Support Foundation charity that gives away non repayable high school education grants to children who will never have the opportunity to have a high school education without outside assistance.
NATURE | Supersize Crocs | Nile Crocodile Ambush Power | PBS
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