First satellite tagging of a saltwater crocodile in Borneo
20 June 2011
Girang entering the water of the Kinabatangan River, fitted with its satellite, which will provide data on its movements
On 18 June 2011, DGFC and the Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit caught a 4m male crocodile in the vicinity of the field centre and tagged it with a satellite. Following the Human-Crocodile Conflict Conference that was held in Kota Kinabalu in June 2010, the Sabah Wildlife Department expressed a desire to carry out scientific work on the primary cause for the rising levels of conflict being experienced in Sabah large rivers. Plantations cause a considerable decrease in the overall amounts of prey available especially to large individuals. This situation makes for a far more dangerous environment. The realisation of this is that attack rates found near plantations are higher compared to those of forested areas.
By tagging large crocodiles in plantation areas and in forested areas, and especially males which are potential man-eaters, we will try to understand and monitor the movements of these large predators. We hope that the results will help us providing guidelines for plantations workers and local villagers in order to reduce fatal attacks and contribute to the protection of this very important species for ecosystem health and tourism.