Human-crocodile conflict research presented at HOORC

Photo courtesy of Georgina Thomas

Georgina Thomas, graduate student in Stellenbosch University's Department of Conservation, Ecology and Entomology and participant in the Okavango Crocodile Project coordinated by Dr Alison Leslie, presented the findings of her research on human-crocodile conflicts in the Okavango Delta today at HOORC. The number of human-crocodile conflicts in the Okavango delta has increased substantially since 1940: Ms Thomas' survey of 34 communities revealed a high number of crocodile attacks on livestock -- four for every person interviewed -- and six attacks on human beings a year. Fifty-five per cent of livestock losses is reported to government for compensation. The Okavango Crocodile Project is working to raise awareness of the ecological role of crocodiles and to educate communities about possible interventions and prevention programmes. In the HOORC Library Peter Smith Collection you can find Crocodile Fever by Earl Lawrence and Discoveries of a Crocodile Man by Tony Pooley.