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Showing posts with label Crocodile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crocodile. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Monday, December 12, 2011
Southeast Asia: Crocodiles in the News
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Photo of Lolong, the world's largest crocodile in captivity |
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Escaped crocodile in Siem Reap. Photo from triple j Mornings |
11 December 2011
Written by Mong Palatino
Global Voices Online
A giant crocodile in southern Philippines and crocodiles in the flooded waters of Thailand and Cambodia were among the top news topics in Southeast Asia in the last quarter of the year.
Named Lolong, the giant crocodile was captured in Agusan del Sur province in southern Philippines and transferred to Bunawan Eco-Park and Research Center drawing more than 500 people a day. A visit by a team from National Geographic confirmed Lolong’s status as the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity although it has to wait for half a year before Guinness World Records officially recognizes it. Lolong’s capture was Top 9 in the list of most shared stories on Facebook this year.
Filipinos also followed the story of Lolong and their online conversations made the giant crocodile a trending topic on the internet. Filipinos also compared Lolong to corrupt politicians whom they tagged as bigger ‘crocodiles’ in government.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Koh Pich tragedy and Hun Sen’s crocodile tears
Op-Ed by Khmerization
30th November, 2010
"His sadness, condolences and mourning seem too genuine and instantaneous. However, to seasoned and veteran political observers.... His grief is fake and his tears are crocodile tears."
Three days after the Koh Pich Bridge stampede tragedy, Prime Minister Hun Sen has been seen around the world’s television screens as having cried uncontrollably for the first time.
To the novice observers of the current Cambodian political affairs, this is an extraordinary scene for a strongman who has been described as having a heart of steel, who is well-known for his brutality and arrogance, to look like a broken man for the first time in his life. His sadness, condolences and mourning seem too genuine and instantaneous. However, to seasoned and veteran political observers of Mr. Hun Sen’s political career and his political maneuverings, Mr. Hun Sen had put up an excellent show to fool the Cambodian people and the world. His grief is fake and his tears are crocodile tears.
The above rationale has been proven correct by his speech on Monday. Seven days after the tragedy and four days after he had put up a public show of emotions, Mr. Hun Sen turned around and declared that no one was responsible for the tragedy and that no head will be rolled. And adding insult to injuries, he had rejected the resignation of Mr. Kong Sam Ol, who is the chairman of the National and International Festival Committee, the body responsible for organizing and managing the Water Festival that caused the stampede.
With the magnitude of the tragedy described as the world’s worst crowd disaster in 4 years, one would have expected that some sort of accountability and culpability be apportioned. Yet, despite an admission of a ‘joint mistake’ and ‘joint responsibility’, Mr. Hun Sen arrogantly declared that no one will be sacked and punished because it is an unforeseen accident occurred because of a ‘carelessness and negligence’ of the government.
Mr. Hun Sen’s admission of a ‘joint mistake’ and ‘joint responsibility’ because of a ‘carelessness and negligence’ of the government is an admission of guilt and wrongdoing and therefore the onus is on the government and Mr. Hun Sen personally. For a tragedy of this magnitude which is a ‘joint mistake’ and ‘joint responsibility’ of a government, the buck stops here with the government and the head of the government, that is to say the government and the whole cabinet must resign, starting with Prime Minister Hun Sen first.
There seem to be a cover up at the highest level to the investigation and the cause of the tragedy. The committee, set up immediately after the tragedy to investigate the cause of the stampede, hastily concluded its investigation in just one day and publicly released its findings exactly one week later. Despite eyewitness accounts of about 30-odd people having been electrocuted, the government denied the claims and the investigation concluded that swaying bridge was the cause of the panic which led to the stampede.
In the West, the investigation into the tragedy of this magnitude will take months, even years, to complete. All evidences will be examined and witnesses interviewed and no stones will be left unturned.
The investigation into the Koh Pich Bridge stampede lacks substance, lacks transparency and credibility. It is doubtful if even 20% of the 8,000 witnesses, that was the number of people who got stuck on the bridge, were interviewed. There is no sign of physical evidences had been examined and analysed and there is no sign of autopsies being performed on the corpses to determine the causes of deaths.
People must remember that Koh Pich Island and Koh Pich bridge are owned by Mr. Hun Sen’s wife and his children and Canadia Bank, which Mr. Hun Sen’s family is the majority shareholder. As a result, Mr. Hun Sen and his family had to be personally and directly responsible for this tragedy also.
By admitting that the tragedy was a 'joint mistake’ and a ‘joint responsibility’ of the government and with mounting evidences pointing to carelessness and cover up at the highest level, the buck stops with Mr. Hun Sen. And to show that his grief and emotions are genuine and in respect to the souls of 351 dead and 329 wounded in the stampede, Mr. Hun Sen and the whole of his cabinet should do the honorable thing and resign.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Cambodian children's 20-kilo croc recaptured after two days on lam
Tue, 07 Sep 2010
DPA
DPA
Phnom Penh - A 20-kilogram pet crocodile was recaptured in Cambodia two days after it dug its way to freedom, media reports said Tuesday.
Cambodian police told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the reptile had dug through its dirt-floor cage and slipped away after heavy rains Wednesday.
"The owner kept it in a wooden cage where the crocodile could scratch at the ground, and it ran away," said Kong Kuon, the police chief in Poipet commune in western Cambodia.
He said the owner had kept the animal as a pet for his children.
A group of 11 men joined the hunt for the crocodile, driven by the hope of a financial reward, said 31-year-old would-be wrangler Mean Chanthy.
"We were thinking we would get a tip from the owner," he said after they had helped capture the animal. "We thought we should get at least 60 dollars, but I got nothing because the police took the crocodile."
Although it is illegal to keep crocodiles as pets, Kong Kuon said the owner would not be punished.
"We did not fine him," he said. "We just told him to be careful if he plans to keep on raising crocodiles."
Kong Kuon said the owner decided against taking back the runaway reptile, which is to stay chained in a pond at the local police station for the foreseeable future.
Cambodian police told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the reptile had dug through its dirt-floor cage and slipped away after heavy rains Wednesday.
"The owner kept it in a wooden cage where the crocodile could scratch at the ground, and it ran away," said Kong Kuon, the police chief in Poipet commune in western Cambodia.
He said the owner had kept the animal as a pet for his children.
A group of 11 men joined the hunt for the crocodile, driven by the hope of a financial reward, said 31-year-old would-be wrangler Mean Chanthy.
"We were thinking we would get a tip from the owner," he said after they had helped capture the animal. "We thought we should get at least 60 dollars, but I got nothing because the police took the crocodile."
Although it is illegal to keep crocodiles as pets, Kong Kuon said the owner would not be punished.
"We did not fine him," he said. "We just told him to be careful if he plans to keep on raising crocodiles."
Kong Kuon said the owner decided against taking back the runaway reptile, which is to stay chained in a pond at the local police station for the foreseeable future.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Edith Bowman catches crocodiles in Cambodia
Monday 25, June 2007
Belfast Telegraph (Ireland)
Belfast Telegraph (Ireland)
Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman ventured deep into the jungle in search of these endangered creatures for this week’s edition of the BBC series ‘Saving Planet Earth’. But, as she explains to Jenny Cockle, the beast remained elusive...
When the BBC asked me to make a film about saving crocodiles, rather than a more cuddly species such as orang-utans, I was actually really pleased.
The crocodile isn’t the most obvious of endangered species and it’s often perceived in a negative way. The Siamese crocodile – a small freshwater croc – is one of the most endangered breeds in the wild, thanks to the fashion industry’s demand for its skin. The BBC programme gave me the opportunity to travel to its natural habitat and discover at first hand its important place in Cambodia’s ecosystem.
I’d never been to Southeast Asia, but friends who had travelled to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam had raved to me about the area’s outstanding natural beauty and the friendliness of the people. Cambodia lived up to my expectations on both counts.
We flew via Bangkok to Siem Reap, the closest airport to the jungle marshes of the Cardamom Mountains in south-west Cambodia where the Siamese crocodile lives. Our trip would last only six days, so we wanted to spend as much time as possible out in the jungle observing crocodiles. But first we squeezed in a day trip to see the famous temples at Angkor Wat.
The ancient city of Angkor was the capital of the Khmer kingdom from 802 until 1295. The temples are incredibly beautiful. They are also very informative because the carvings on the walls depict Cambodia’s history. I’d seen the temples in the first Tomb Raider film – which was filmed there – but it’s quite an experience to walk through them. For one thing, monkeys leap about the place – it reminded me of a scene from The Jungle Book – and, in one temple, elephants roam around, which takes a bit of getting used to. All in all, it’s a fascinating place and the tour guides are all incredibly helpful.
At first light the following morning, we drove out to a small airfield and boarded a helicopter which took us into the middle of the jungle. It was an amazing journey, travelling from the semi built-up area that is Siem Reap, across the enormous paddy fields glistening in the sunlight, to a wall of vast jungle. Viewed from above, it looked like an enormous sprig of broccoli; it was so dense. I must admit that the flight was slightly nerve-racking: when you’re right out in the middle of the jungle you can’t help thinking, if anything happens to us now we’ll be lost for ever.
We visited last November when it was very hot and humid, so much so that the jungle appeared to have steam rising from it. When we landed in the Areng valley, near the village of Chumnoap, it was only 10am but already scorching hot. It takes a while to ac-climatise and, without realising, I didn’t drink enough water and I ended up suffering from sunstroke.
Our crew was joined by a team from Fauna & Flora International. We weren’t given any preferential treatment at all: we were up at sunrise every morning to catch the boat and travel up and down the river in search of crocodiles.
I’m a pretty good traveller and don’t mind roughing it, but I’d been very wary of making this trip to the jungle and was worried I’d hate it. In fact, I really enjoyed the experience. Our base was a man-made camp by the side of the river and we slept on hammocks underneath a piece of a tarpaulin. Our food consisted of rice and boiled river water – which tasted much like wood. Yet I hadn’t slept so well in years.
There is something deeply calming about the noises in the jungle. Jenny Daltry, a reptile expert with Fauna & Flora International who travelled with us, has spent so much time studying in the area that she can identify every sound, even a male gibbon calling for a mate. And once you know what is making these strange noises, your anxieties soon disappear. Still, we could-n’t guarantee uninterrupted sleep, because if one of the rangers spotted a crocodile in the middle of the night, we would all have to go out in the boat and search for it.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see a crocodile in the wild during our trip, which I suppose is testament to the fact that there are only 250 left in the area. However, I did get up close and personal with them later at the crocodile rehabilitation centre just outside of Phnom Penh. I even helped to hold down a 10ft croc while the biologist took a DNA sample to see if it was a pure-bred Siamese crocodile.
Previously, I’d always thought of crocodiles as ferocious, man-eating creatures and I had no idea of their importance to the ecosystem. Essentially, they create waterways from the lakes to the river, which enable water to flow into the paddy fields where villagers grow their crops. The Siamese crocodile is also incredibly placid and there have been no reported attacks by them on humans.
We spent a day in one of the small villages off the river which had about 25 inhabitants. I took my Polaroid camera with me and was photographing the kids, which they found fascinating because it was the first time they’d seen a picture of themselves.
The villagers were so welcoming: it was great just to hang out and join in their games. We played a sort of keepy-uppy game with a shuttlecock for more than an hour and, embarrassingly, I was totally knackered by the end.
As well as my camera, I had packed some whisky and shortbread which I gave to the rangers. They were thrilled. They usually make their own alcoholic rice wine, which I can confirm is lethal. Quite a few of them were former crocodile hunters, so they’ve come full circle and are now helping to save them.
When we left the jungle we took the traditional route out, which entailed two hours on a small boat and four hours on the back of a moped, even riding through rivers. Despite the discomfort, we actually saw so much more of the country than in the helicopter.
Transport in Cambodia is quite basic and cramped, the aim being to squeeze on or in as many people as possible. It’s not unusual to see up to four people perched on one bicycle, a bit like a balancing act at the circus. For buses, they use little Transit vans and as they pass by you just see a mass of faces pressed up against the windows.
I was amazed to see the amount of luggage our drivers managed to fix on to the mopeds as we were leaving the jungle. There were a few times when we nearly toppled over, but that was all part of the adventure.
Back in Phnom Penh, we took some time to explore the city. It’s a vibrant place with wonderful food markets to browse and lots of tailors selling beautiful fabrics. It’s such a mix: there are modern buildings and huge hoardings advertising products such as mobile phones, but you still see cattle wandering the streets. I really enjoyed the food; it tastes incredibly fresh. It’s rice- and curry-based but mixed with exotic fruits such as mango.
But what sticks in my mind is the amazing colours of the country, the different shades of green in the jungle, the intensity of the light and the spectacular birds – you see lots of kingfishers skimming the water looking for food.
We didn’t have time to relax on the beach, but I hear there are some beautiful sandy ones on the southwest coast in Sihanoukville, and there are many spectacular waterfalls, especially Poung Roul. I hope I will return one day to jump on one of those mopeds and speed off on another Cambodian adventure.
Further viewing ‘Saving Planet Earth: Edith Bowman – Saving Crocodiles’ is on BBC1, at 7pm, Wednesday
Best buildings
Battambang, Cambodia's second city, has some of the country's finest colonial architecture (battambang-town.gov.kh)
In the mountains
The Cardamom Mountains are one of the last forest wilderness areas in the mainland south-east Asia (cardamom.org)
Relaxing beaches
For unspoilt sandy beaches, head to Sihanoukville on Cambodia's southwest coast (sihanoukville.com/resort/ index.html)
Ancient temples
Now a UN Heritage site, the ancient temples of Angkor were only discovered in the 1850s, hidden deep in the jungle (angkor-cambodia.org/ eng/angkor.html)
On the water
Take a boat trip on Lake Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Asia (angkor-cambodia.org/eng/tonlesap.html)
When the BBC asked me to make a film about saving crocodiles, rather than a more cuddly species such as orang-utans, I was actually really pleased.
The crocodile isn’t the most obvious of endangered species and it’s often perceived in a negative way. The Siamese crocodile – a small freshwater croc – is one of the most endangered breeds in the wild, thanks to the fashion industry’s demand for its skin. The BBC programme gave me the opportunity to travel to its natural habitat and discover at first hand its important place in Cambodia’s ecosystem.
I’d never been to Southeast Asia, but friends who had travelled to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam had raved to me about the area’s outstanding natural beauty and the friendliness of the people. Cambodia lived up to my expectations on both counts.
We flew via Bangkok to Siem Reap, the closest airport to the jungle marshes of the Cardamom Mountains in south-west Cambodia where the Siamese crocodile lives. Our trip would last only six days, so we wanted to spend as much time as possible out in the jungle observing crocodiles. But first we squeezed in a day trip to see the famous temples at Angkor Wat.
The ancient city of Angkor was the capital of the Khmer kingdom from 802 until 1295. The temples are incredibly beautiful. They are also very informative because the carvings on the walls depict Cambodia’s history. I’d seen the temples in the first Tomb Raider film – which was filmed there – but it’s quite an experience to walk through them. For one thing, monkeys leap about the place – it reminded me of a scene from The Jungle Book – and, in one temple, elephants roam around, which takes a bit of getting used to. All in all, it’s a fascinating place and the tour guides are all incredibly helpful.
At first light the following morning, we drove out to a small airfield and boarded a helicopter which took us into the middle of the jungle. It was an amazing journey, travelling from the semi built-up area that is Siem Reap, across the enormous paddy fields glistening in the sunlight, to a wall of vast jungle. Viewed from above, it looked like an enormous sprig of broccoli; it was so dense. I must admit that the flight was slightly nerve-racking: when you’re right out in the middle of the jungle you can’t help thinking, if anything happens to us now we’ll be lost for ever.
We visited last November when it was very hot and humid, so much so that the jungle appeared to have steam rising from it. When we landed in the Areng valley, near the village of Chumnoap, it was only 10am but already scorching hot. It takes a while to ac-climatise and, without realising, I didn’t drink enough water and I ended up suffering from sunstroke.
Our crew was joined by a team from Fauna & Flora International. We weren’t given any preferential treatment at all: we were up at sunrise every morning to catch the boat and travel up and down the river in search of crocodiles.
I’m a pretty good traveller and don’t mind roughing it, but I’d been very wary of making this trip to the jungle and was worried I’d hate it. In fact, I really enjoyed the experience. Our base was a man-made camp by the side of the river and we slept on hammocks underneath a piece of a tarpaulin. Our food consisted of rice and boiled river water – which tasted much like wood. Yet I hadn’t slept so well in years.
There is something deeply calming about the noises in the jungle. Jenny Daltry, a reptile expert with Fauna & Flora International who travelled with us, has spent so much time studying in the area that she can identify every sound, even a male gibbon calling for a mate. And once you know what is making these strange noises, your anxieties soon disappear. Still, we could-n’t guarantee uninterrupted sleep, because if one of the rangers spotted a crocodile in the middle of the night, we would all have to go out in the boat and search for it.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see a crocodile in the wild during our trip, which I suppose is testament to the fact that there are only 250 left in the area. However, I did get up close and personal with them later at the crocodile rehabilitation centre just outside of Phnom Penh. I even helped to hold down a 10ft croc while the biologist took a DNA sample to see if it was a pure-bred Siamese crocodile.
Previously, I’d always thought of crocodiles as ferocious, man-eating creatures and I had no idea of their importance to the ecosystem. Essentially, they create waterways from the lakes to the river, which enable water to flow into the paddy fields where villagers grow their crops. The Siamese crocodile is also incredibly placid and there have been no reported attacks by them on humans.
We spent a day in one of the small villages off the river which had about 25 inhabitants. I took my Polaroid camera with me and was photographing the kids, which they found fascinating because it was the first time they’d seen a picture of themselves.
The villagers were so welcoming: it was great just to hang out and join in their games. We played a sort of keepy-uppy game with a shuttlecock for more than an hour and, embarrassingly, I was totally knackered by the end.
As well as my camera, I had packed some whisky and shortbread which I gave to the rangers. They were thrilled. They usually make their own alcoholic rice wine, which I can confirm is lethal. Quite a few of them were former crocodile hunters, so they’ve come full circle and are now helping to save them.
When we left the jungle we took the traditional route out, which entailed two hours on a small boat and four hours on the back of a moped, even riding through rivers. Despite the discomfort, we actually saw so much more of the country than in the helicopter.
Transport in Cambodia is quite basic and cramped, the aim being to squeeze on or in as many people as possible. It’s not unusual to see up to four people perched on one bicycle, a bit like a balancing act at the circus. For buses, they use little Transit vans and as they pass by you just see a mass of faces pressed up against the windows.
I was amazed to see the amount of luggage our drivers managed to fix on to the mopeds as we were leaving the jungle. There were a few times when we nearly toppled over, but that was all part of the adventure.
Back in Phnom Penh, we took some time to explore the city. It’s a vibrant place with wonderful food markets to browse and lots of tailors selling beautiful fabrics. It’s such a mix: there are modern buildings and huge hoardings advertising products such as mobile phones, but you still see cattle wandering the streets. I really enjoyed the food; it tastes incredibly fresh. It’s rice- and curry-based but mixed with exotic fruits such as mango.
But what sticks in my mind is the amazing colours of the country, the different shades of green in the jungle, the intensity of the light and the spectacular birds – you see lots of kingfishers skimming the water looking for food.
We didn’t have time to relax on the beach, but I hear there are some beautiful sandy ones on the southwest coast in Sihanoukville, and there are many spectacular waterfalls, especially Poung Roul. I hope I will return one day to jump on one of those mopeds and speed off on another Cambodian adventure.
Further viewing ‘Saving Planet Earth: Edith Bowman – Saving Crocodiles’ is on BBC1, at 7pm, Wednesday
Best buildings
Battambang, Cambodia's second city, has some of the country's finest colonial architecture (battambang-town.gov.kh)
In the mountains
The Cardamom Mountains are one of the last forest wilderness areas in the mainland south-east Asia (cardamom.org)
Relaxing beaches
For unspoilt sandy beaches, head to Sihanoukville on Cambodia's southwest coast (sihanoukville.com/resort/ index.html)
Ancient temples
Now a UN Heritage site, the ancient temples of Angkor were only discovered in the 1850s, hidden deep in the jungle (angkor-cambodia.org/ eng/angkor.html)
On the water
Take a boat trip on Lake Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Asia (angkor-cambodia.org/eng/tonlesap.html)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Crocodile alert in Cambodia
April 25 2007
DPA
DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodian villagers along the Mekong river were on crocodile alert after reports of sightings of a number of large reptiles near a populated area, an official said on Wednesday.
Deputy chief of the fisheries department in Kampong Cham province, about 125km from the capital, Phoung Dyna, said villagers had reported seeing three crocodiles over 1-metre long and up to half a dozen smaller specimens in the river in recent days.
"The crocodiles have not harmed any people there so far," he said. "But it is not normal for them to be seen in the river."
Wildlife officials familiar with the north-eastern province said the animals had probably escaped from one of the many crocodile farms situated in the area.
Local panic was fuelled by a New Year prediction by the Royal Palace astrologer broadcast in local media of a rash of crocodile attacks in the new Year of Pig - a forecast initially shrugged off by most Cambodians.
Deputy chief of the fisheries department in Kampong Cham province, about 125km from the capital, Phoung Dyna, said villagers had reported seeing three crocodiles over 1-metre long and up to half a dozen smaller specimens in the river in recent days.
"The crocodiles have not harmed any people there so far," he said. "But it is not normal for them to be seen in the river."
Wildlife officials familiar with the north-eastern province said the animals had probably escaped from one of the many crocodile farms situated in the area.
Local panic was fuelled by a New Year prediction by the Royal Palace astrologer broadcast in local media of a rash of crocodile attacks in the new Year of Pig - a forecast initially shrugged off by most Cambodians.
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