Experts work to capture saltwater croc in Sarangani Bay to extract DNA
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 23 September) — Wildlife experts tracking a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) along Sarangani Bay intend to capture the four-meter long reptile to extract Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples to determine its possible origin.
They are, however, confronted with the formidable task of locating the reptile and securing legal requirements to capture and extract DNA samples from the crocodile. Capturing or killing a saltwater crocodile faces stiff penalties under Philippine laws.
“We have no exact idea if it is still out there now,” chief field biologist Marvin Sarmiento of the Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, Inc. (CPPI), told MindaNews on Sunday. He said they also face a daunting job of finding the exact location of the reptile or if there may be others out there.
Sarmiento said they could not ascertain yet if there are others or if the crocodile that was sighted by a fisherman on August 27 in Barangay Buayan here is the same as the one seen in Barangay Lun Padidu, Malapatan in Sarangani on September 14.
“By obtaining its DNA, we would be able to compare it with DNA specimens we have collected from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi,” he said. Such procedure revealed that the saltwater crocodiles that were captured in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, in 2020 and 2017 actually swam their way into the island from overseas, he said.
Saltwater crocodiles, also known as Indo-Pacific crocodiles, are known ocean swimmers and can thrive even in lakes and rivers, unlike the smaller Philippine crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis) that stays mainly in the freshwater and cannot survive the sea.
To capture the crocodile for DNA extraction, Sarmiento said they have to comply with certain legal procedures and protocols that protect saltwater crocodiles, whose population in the Philippines is fast dwindling.
In this country, saltwater crocodiles are already considered critically endangered, he said. A briefer issued on Saturday by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 said that “over 6,000 saltwater crocodiles still exist in the country as of today.”
Sarmiento said based on reports of sighting by residents, the crocodile has been moving along the eastern coast of the bay where the shorelines are dotted with mangroves and tributaries.
In their initial findings, he said there are areas in the bay where “the crocodile can dwell but these cannot support a population,“ he pointed out. This could indicate why the crocodile is always moving from one place to another.
The wildlife expert showed this reporter a digital map of the shorelines of Sarangani bay, displaying dozens of spots on where the reptile was sighted since his team arrived.
As gathered from residents who reported seeing the crocodile at a particular time and place, Sarmiento said they were able to plot its movement and it was heading towards the mouth of the bay.
“This may indicate that the crocodile may have already left the bay or it may still be there. This is just hypothetical and needs further validation,” he explained.
He said, however, it would not be a good idea to assume that the crocodile has already left “Baka magkampante ang mga tao tapos nandiyan lang pala ang buwaya” (People might become complacent while the crocodile might still be there).
In a press briefing on Sunday, Roy Mejorada, of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, said saltwater crocodiles have been sighted along Sarangani bay since 2012, when a dead crocodile was found in July of that year in Malok, Labangal in General Santos City.
On September 21, 2014, another dead saltwater crocodile was found, its remains preserved and has been on display at the Sarangani Wildlife Museum of the Environmental Conservation and Protection Center in Alabel town, Sarangani.
On the recent crocodile sightings, Mejorada said reports they get from residents were consistent in saying that every time they attempt to approach the crocodile, it moves away. Even drone footage of the crocodile shows that it submerges itself every time the drone descends to get a closer video, he said.
Sarmiento said such behavior of the crocodile indicates that it is wild and unfamiliar with the area.
Saltwater crocodiles, being territorial and ferocious, would display aggressiveness with their tail twitching as they lunge their head to strike, Sarmiento explained.
The CPPI biologist said it is important to know that these crocodiles do not recognize a human as a boy, a girl, or a minor or an adult, that it must avoid. “It only sees human and other animals as an object or a prey that it can easily subdue,” he pointed out.
It does not attack objects larger than itself, so when you are on a banca larger than the crocodile, you are safe, Sarmiento said. “It is only in the movies that crocodiles attack boats,” he added.
DENR Region 12 executive director Felix Alicer said they have formed a quick reaction team to help the CPPI team track down the crocodile. The monitoring will continue until October 15, he said.
Sarmiento, part of a four-man CPPI team, arrived here on Thursday upon the request of DENR Region 12 to help determine the needed course of action to be taken with the presence of the crocodile that scared residents and fishermen in coastal villages.
He explained that their presence is not to defend the crocodile from attacks by humans, but to help communicate to the public the nature and characteristics of the crocodiles to reduce any possible conflicts between humans and the crocodile.
“We are foremost for the preservation of human life,” he said. But, humans also need to understand how important wildlife and the entire ecosystem is to human existence, he added. (Rommel Rebollido / MindaNews)
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