New way to catch an old predator
It is a recurrent question: can humans coexist alongside crocodiles? The answer seems to be “sometimes.” But when the animals become a threat to the community, they need to be caught and relocated. One man decided there must be an easier way to trap the crocs than the usual snare method and devised a trap he hopes will make a big difference, not only to the people bothered by the presence of these animals, but to the animals themselves.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Problem crocodiles, like this eight-foot critter caught in the Bella Vista residential community, have been a persistent nuisance and threat to the animals and people living in the area. The Morelet crocodile, which is missing one of its front legs, is believed to have lost the limb after it got into a fight with a bigger crocodile.
Marcelo Windsor, Wildlife Officer, Min. of Environment
“These are potentially dangerous animals. If you see this one close enough, it is missing a limb and people have reported this animal having caught a dog somewhere.”
The Morelet crocodile is normally a gentle creature. However the size and disability of animal can make it become a high risk in the environment it inhabits.
Tony Garel, Director, Belize Vivarium
“This crocodile we caught here is missing a leg and usually when top predators are disabled, then they become a nuisance. They cannot hunt properly and they struggle to survive and they start picking on domestic animals. In some cases, unfortunately, if people get in the way a large crocodile will certainly take a person.”
“This is a Morelet crocodile that’s found mostly in fresh water. Large specimens will come out along the coast, and they are usually gentle by nature, but any crocodile that’s over six or seven feet, I’d be very careful of. In this case, this one is eight and a half feet.”
In the past, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment would catch the crocodile by snaring the animal. However, that practice was not only time consuming but dangerous.
Marcelo Windsor
“Firstly, we have always used the traditional way of catching crocodiles, using snares. That has worked pretty much, but it does involve spending much time around the areas trying to understand the animal’s behaviour well, and that does take time.”
So last week it was decided to try a new contraption built by Tony Garel, a reptilian expert and Director of Belize Vivarium. The trap, built only from steel, has the capacity to hold up to a twelve-foot long crocodile. Last week it was put into one of the canals of Bella Vista and two days later it made its first catch.
Tony Garel
“When we built it first it was floating too high and the crocodiles were swimming around it and they couldn’t get in, so we raised the floated up so the trap submerged a little deeper in the water.”
Chickens and horsemeat are used as bait and the unsuspecting crocodile goes into the cage.
Jacqueline Woods
“How does it work?”
Tony Garel
“This is the front of the gate and there is a lever here that runs all the way to the back with a cable and it’s baited in the back, the animal goes in, swims in, and pulls on the bait and it drops.”
Marcelo Windsor
“With this new trap, which is being financially supported by PACT, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, it has enabled us to do much more around the Belize City area where we do have some very serious calls concerning crocodiles. We are addressing the problem without us having to be there fulltime.”
Later this week, the trap will be moved to another location and hopefully another problem crocodile will be taken out of the area. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
The trap was built at a cost of four thousand dollars. In case you are wondering about the crocodile’s fate, it will be relocated to the Belize Vivarium, a new venture presently under construction in Belmopan which will showcase the reptiles and amphibians of Belize.
