A fourteen-year-old boy has died after being attacked by a Crocodile close to the Mazvikadei Dam in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe, according to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. The boy, who has not been named, was attacked while trying to cross a river on Saturday 25 April 2020. The boy's remains have been recovered, and the Crocodile destroyed by professional hunters. A funeral is planned later this week.
A Crocodile at Mazvikadei Dam, Zimbabwe. Mazvikadei Leisure Resort.
The Mazvikadei Dam Lake is home to a large population of Nile Crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus, which are popular with tourists. Nile
Crocodiles are large animals, reaching about five
meters in length, and are ambush predators capable of taking large
prey, including, on occasion, Humans. The animals are thought to be at
their most dangerous around September in Southern Africa, when the water is
lowest, and females are guarding eggs buried in nests by the river,
however they can clearly be dangerous at other times of year if
provoked.
Nile Crocodiles are considered to be of Least Concern under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species,
but are still protected in many countries, due to
historic hunting which decimated populations in many areas. However, the
rising number of attacks on Humans by the animals has led to calls for
regulated hunting to be introduced to control the population.
See also...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.
