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104
Thecauseofdeathisinteresting;4animalshavedefinitelybeenpredated-uponbylalgel
crocodiles. In all of these cases the radio signal was eithel received from a lalge adult male
and moved with this animal, or contact was lost lor period of up to 4 weeks after which the
,r", ."to"ut"a after regurgitation. This suggests the original assumption that rclease
"oitaf uil.z m rI- *outo avoid cannibalism was incorect A further two animals were beaten to
deatt Uy n.t poa"hers after becoming trapped in a shallow pool at the top of the estuary as
the water receded.
2) Acclimatisation - grcwth and condition
ihe;;mple size for this section of the results is fairly small (n = 30 or 20 70.of the animals
,"iL-.Ji n"*pat" of specific animals on set dates for remeasurcment is seldom successful
considedng the large area covered and the chance of successful capture Atl the animals
r"""oiu."a"ro far hive been included, irrespective of the capture date (33 to 147 days after
release) and all are first recapture.
This spread ol capture dates introduces problems with interpretation because it includes
;;il; ;d non-gro*ing pedods. significant differences in growth rate occur in these
periods in Kadba (Games 1990).
The limited data available however indicate considerable changes in linear dimensions and
i"-."rt ff"tf":1. The overall trend is increase in all dimensions excepthe circumference
of t" U"t" of the tail. There is wide variation between individuals and an indication that
thoseoverl.2mTLincrcasemoleinlinealdimensionsthansmalleranimals.Meanchange
in TL for animals < 1.2 m TL is negative while animals > l'2 m TL on average increased
by nearly 30 mm. These growth rates are considerably higher than. those found previously
for reteased animals 1l-overidge pg$'!q!q!!-) but may relate to previous feeding in captivity
and will decline with time.
Tabte 3. Mean change in body dimensions for rccaptured ani|rals over the period 33 to 147
days after release. (n = 30; all measurements in mm, except for mass (g)
MASS G)
TOTAL LENGTH
BASE TAIL
+1250; -1000
+55; -30
+ l3; -20
+8.9; +0.2
+ 18: -3
Condition indices at the time of release are generally higher than when recapturcd, only 2
of the 30 animals recaptured had higher condition scores after a period in the wild' This
;attem is common to animal larger and smaller ihan the 1'2 m TL division descdbed above
and includes summer and winter data.