DENR warns fishers, village officials vs. plan to catch saltwater croc in Sarangani Bay
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 20 September) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 12 (DENR-12) has cautioned a group of fishermen and barangay officials who plan on capturing a saltwater crocodile, said to frequent the coast here and in nearby Alabel and Malapatan towns in Sarangani province.
DENR Region 12 executive director Felix Alicer said that only experts and professionals “can accomplish” what the group is planning to do.
“This type of crocodile is quite aggressive. They are referred to as ambush predators, they wait for their prey,” Alicer told local broadcaster 102.3 barangay FM on Thursday.
He advised residents to take utmost precaution in going to the sea.
The idea of catching the saltwater crocodile came as a dare by Rogelio Solis, the chair of Barangay Buayan here, who apparently got annoyed with the constant bashing he gets over local radio by residents of a coastal community who complained that village leaders have done nothing about their plea for help.
In the past few weeks, fisherfolk and residents along the shores of Purok Minanga, a community situated along the delta of Buayan River in Barangay Buayan, have sought the help of authorities about the presence of a crocodile that has been allegedly frequenting their place.
Carlo Cabradilla told radio reporters who went to their place on Monday that they have grown tired of asking help from village officials.
Nothing has been done even as the crocodile was frequently seen near houses, scaring the entire neighborhood and preventing them from setting out to sea and fish, he said.
Toto, a neighbor of Cabradilla, said that once when he and some colleagues went fishing, they were startled to see a crocodile swimming alongside their outrigger banca.
Cabradilla said they last saw the reptile around 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 14. “We immediately called the authorities but no one came,” he said.
In a dare to his constituents in Purok Minanga, Solis on Wednesday said “If you cannot wait for proper authorities to act, join me and let us swim to catch that crocodile at sea.”
Informed about Solis’s dare, Alicer cautioned the group to “better park that plan. If you are not knowledgeable about the behavior of these type of crocodiles, you’re putting your life at great danger.”
Alicer said they have engaged a private group to help them deal with the reported presence of a saltwater crocodile along the shorelines in Sarangani Bay.
We have tapped the help of experts from Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, a group engaged in the conservation of the reptile.
He said the expert group will help determine the needed course of action — either to relocate or resort to adaptation, meaning humans and crocodiles co-existing in the place.
“We will check if Minanga is a natural habitat of crocodiles. Is there a history? If so, do we need adaptation and learn to live with it? We must also determine if there is human-crocodile conflict that affects livelihood, then we will decide on that,” Alicer said.
In earlier media interviews, Shalimar A. Disomangcop, head of the Sarangani Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, said it is important to determine whether Purok Minanga is a natural habitat of the crocodile or if it was there for breeding purposes.
The rainy months of September and October are known breeding seasons of the reptile.
Disomangcop said identifying the crocodile’s presence is important, considering the highly territorial nature of the reptile and its potential threat to human safety.
Alicer said there have been reported sightings of a crocodile on August 27, and September 1 and 11. He said they were able to get drone footage of the crocodile off the coast in Lun Padidu, Malapatan town, Sarangani.
Roberto Davalos, a Bantay Dagat volunteer, had reported the sighting of a saltwater crocodile near the shores along Juanico Village in Barangay Lun Padidu in Malapatan.
The crocodile was estimated to be approximately three to four meters in length, based on drone footage.
“We received information that the crocodile is not alone. There could be others and this is what we are trying to validate,” Alicer said.
Cirilo Lagnason Jr., Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) superintendent, said this is the first documented sighting of the saltwater crocodile in Sarangani Bay.
The SBPS official added that saltwater crocodiles are “aggressive and large enough to perceive humans as prey.” (Rommel Rebollido / MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment