size: 7451KB - Crocodile Specialist Group

landownerpanicipation in the egg collection Fogram (Vr'ebb et
al. 1987, Manolis and Webb 1990).
Problem or nuisance crccodiles arc captued alive and distributed
among commercial crocodile farms or relocated. In the
two calendar years 1988 al,d 1989,278 problem C. porosus
wer€ dealt wilh: 221 wenr ro farms, 52 were wore relocared in
the wil4 4 died at capNre, and I was shol
Presently there are eight commercial C. prroszi farms in
Australia (four in the No(hem Territory, threo in Queensland,
and one jn Weslem Australia). Five are operating as ranches,
obtaining wild slock as hatchlings (from egg colleclion) or
adulls (pmblem animals). However, captivo brceding is occurring
at several farms. At Crocodile Fams N.T., 4t C, porosus
nests were laid during the 1986- 1987 nosling season, of which
3? wcrc in 1987-1988,and6t in 1988-1989. TheEdwardRiver
Farm (csablished 1973) in Qucensland began as a conservarion
progam, and originally most of its
C.pture animals were released
olsaftv.ter cmodrrq Crc.o.blut po,o'd, back
tor re*.rcn,
llardes c.mk, Nrth*r Ter.lro.t, inlo
Anstntt.. Co tnu€d nonttortng thc wild. In 1979, ranching operarions ceased and rhe furm
.nd r€srch provlde lhe brsls ld .o.rrclllng qptolr.rlm rl l becamo the first closed-cycle broeding openrion in AusIlalia.
susrih.bte revel inAusrrdlt (Pnob bt GJ.w. webb).
Commercial operation began in 1984 (Luxnoore et al. 1985).
The Conscrvation Commission of lhe Nonhem Torrilory
has designed reguladons for the prepamtion of crocodilo meat
and lhe monitoring of skin and meat commerce. Thc first skins
This park contains the largcs! sysrem of crocodite breeding were cxp,oned from the Northcm Territory in 198?. Shns go
rivers in norrhcm Ausrralia, and has been the site of rtrc most mostly to lhe Japanese market, while mca! is consumedomesdcally
(Manols and Wcbb 1990).
significant populalion rccovery (Messel c! at. 1986, Mono
graph 19).
Until recendy, management of C. polrrrr in Westem Auslmlia
was based on the prorecrion of wild popularions and had Survey Dat4 Iv-widespread survey data
Country Raaing
no uti li4Ljon com pone nl { B urbridge lq87r. Ho$ever,alrrmil Wild Population Status: 4-depleted/wlnemble
for lhe eshblishmenl of one commercial ranching operation at Mamgement Program: E.2,ianching, E.3-farming
Wyndham was re.enlly issucd. Aside from thc presence of
pnvately owncd commercial farms, crocodile managcmcnt in Contact: John Bacbe, Melvin Bolton, Harvey Cooper,Presron,
Queenslandhas nocommcrcial conponenr (Taplin 1987). To Warren Entsch, lIarry J. Freeman, hol Gordon Grigg, Robert
deal wirh the increasing number ofcomplainB fiom thepublic, W.G. Jerkins, Bill Freeland, Dr. Colin Linpus,John Lever, S.
a problcn crocodile program was inilialcd along rhe populatcd Charlie Manolis, hof. Hary Messel, J.T. VicrorOnions, Dr.
easlem cmst (Taplin 1990). Messel er al. (Monographs 16 John Shield. Dr. crahame J.W. Webb
(1981), 20 (1987)) has srongly recornmendcd lhc establishmcnt
of marine parks in borh of thesc sIaies.
Afier the rcclassificalion of Ausralian C. parcsus onto
CITES Appendix II. a ranching program was begun in the
Norlhem Tenitory. This program is bascd on lhe collection of
eggs. Expe.imenlal hrvcsis werc conductcd in 1983-1984
(994 eggs), 1984-1985 (3.517 esgs) and 1985-1986 (3,470
cggs). Follow-up sporl ight surveys found no negarive impacts
on populalion size ofjuvenile crocodilcs (Webb et at. 1989).
Egg harvests in more rcccnl year. have becn: t 986- 19874,293
cggs, 19137-1988 4,509 eggs (Manolis and Webb 1990). Thc
eggs are incubated by rcsearch sraff of the Conservarion Commission.
Because no ncgarivc impacb on wild flopulations
wcre no0ed, lhe cgg collection program was expandcd in rhc
1988-1989 season. with 6,497 cggs (roial viable and nonviable)
collected (Wcbb cl al. 1990b). To da!c. collections havc
beer experimcntal in nalure and havc bcen ca.ried our by rhe Skhnlng f.rm.d craodtte rr Ed*.rds
(-onservarion
Rtve. qeod € frm,
Commission. witi lhc sale olharhljngs to Lrocodile
farmspaying for the research. Plans now allow increased aborlglnrls (Photo br GJ.W.
Quenslrnd, Ausrrdla. Thh hodet frrm provtd6 ehptoymcnl 16 t@l
webb).
36