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Don't Get Eaten by a Croc

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Simon Pooley at Birkbeck, University of London
Simon Pooley
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Abstract

This poster is aimed at children and visitors to areas of South Africa and Swaziland that have populations of Nile crocodiles. It is intended to raise awareness in areas where attacks have occurred, so saving lives, human and crocodilian. This is central to my aim to do research which can make a real difference, and communicate my findings beyond academia. The poster is large format and colourful, designed by the wonderful Michele Bush, with an eye-catching main illustration by Chloe Townsend which will catch peoples’ attention. Ten concise top tips on avoiding being bitten are offered in colourful circles. There is also a map by Andrea Ballatore (& Michele Bush) of where attacks have occurred, based on my long-term attack data for the region. The poster thus provides free public information on which regions and rivers are known to have crocs and have experienced attacks. Text includes a summary of my attack data, and offers contact details for who to call in the case of a ’problem croc’, by region. There is an infographic further summarising attack data by activity, fatal/non-fatal, visitor/non-visitor. The map is being distributed free in northern KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa, to the Kruger National Park, and in Swaziland. It is being distributed together with further information (see my booklet Don’t get eaten by a crocodile in S Africa or Swaziland) and a quiz is available on request, for outreach work. This map was funded by the Lambert Bequest, who fund my Lectureship at Birkbeck University of London. A very similar poster has been designed for use in Gujarat, India. Please refer to as: Pooley, S. 2017. Don’t Get Eaten by a Croc (London: Simon Pooley). This poster is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
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9. Don’t ignore
warning signs and keep
pets and small children
out of the water.
10. Be extra careful of
crocodiles from Novem-
ber to February
5. If you must
enter the water, do it
when it’s cool, stay the
minimum time, and keep quiet –
noise attracts crocodiles.
6. If your fishing line gets tangled
in the water, cut the line. Your
life’s worth more than
your fishing gear.
3. A croc can jump
almost its whole body-length:
stay 3m from the water’s edge,
and don’t camp near water.
4. Don’t dangle your legs,
arms or bottoms over the
sides of boats.
TOP TEN TIPS
TO AVOID ATTACKS
1. If crocodiles live nearby, be
careful when entering dams or pools:
they travel overland usually at night.
2. A big croc can stay underwater for
1 hour: don’t assume it’s not there
if you can’t see it.
Summary of attacks
(214 attacks, from 1949-2016)
Where: mostly in rivers; since 2000,
an increase in dams
When: mostly the hot summer
months, October-March, day or night
Who: all ages and genders, but:
65% males; 51% children, especially
teenagers (29%)
Activities: Most victims (where known)
were swimming/bathing (31%), fishing
(22%), fetching water/washing
clothes (18%) or crossing water (16%)
Some think crocs are magical:
focus on the normal crocs we
can avoid. Crocs are important,
protected animals. Be smart,
Avoid them, or call for help.
Who to call
Swaziland: Big Game Parks (BGP)
2528 3943/4
KwaZulu-Natal: St Lucia Crocodile Centre
035 590 1386
Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency
013 262 4184
Limpopo Province
015 293 8300
Where do attacks happen?
INCIDENTS
CROC ATTACKS
Region
DON’T
GET
EATEN
BY
A
CROC
7. Don’t gut fish
or leave dead animals
at the water’s edge, and
don’t feed wild crocs.
8. Don’t try to catch baby
crocs; their mother may
be nearby.
VICTIMS
Total number of victims: 214
Some attacks involved multiple victims
Victim profiles and outcomes
Data for South Africa and Swaziland
Fatal
105
Non-fatal
109
Local
172
Visitor
31
Unknown
11
Swimming
or bathing
59
Fishing
41
Crossing
30
Boating
3
Other
21
Rescuer
1
Unknown
24
Chores
35
Copyright © concept, text & data Simon Pooley,
Lambert Lecturer in Environment (Applied Herpetology) 2017
Design by Michele Bush_Next Brand CT,
Illustration by Chloë Townsend • Base Map by Andrea Ballatore
Funded by The Lambert Bequest, Birkbeck University of London
SOUTH
AFRICA
Mpumalanga
Limpopo
Kruger
National
Park
KwaZulu-Natal
Great Letaba
Little
Letaba
Letaba
Sabie
Komati
Mbuluzi
uSuthu
Mkuze
Mseleni
Crocodile
Mokolo
M
Mogalakwena
Mogala
Olifants
Olifants
Pongola
Notwani
Crocodile
Notwani
Sand
L
i
Mbabane
Umfolozi
Tugela
Luvuvhu
Limpopo
Umgeni
Hluhluwe
Thohoyandou
St.
Lucia
IN SOUTH AFRICA AND SWAZILAND, 1949 - 2017
ZIMBABWE
MOZAM
BIQUE
0 50 100 km
Protected Areas
Key Rivers
for Attacks
Major Cities
Crocodile Attacks
Crocodile Presence
Total number of attacks: 214
MBABANE
Nkomazi
Lusutfu
Mbuluzi
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