Crocodiles have a rather off-putting character trait: they bite. This week Big Gecko and Charles Darwin University are launching CrocBITE (http://www.crocodile-attack.info/), a worldwide crocodilian attack database that does exactly that.

 

With nearly 2000 incidents recorded across 16 species, 50 countries and 150 years, it provides a strong baseline to better understand croc attack trends and risk factors.

 

Crocodile attacks are increasing in many countries, but some places are doing a better job than others at keeping them in check. Since 1971, Australia has witnessed 99 attacks on people by saltwater crocodiles, of which 27% were fatal. On average that’s around 2.3 attacks per year over four decades, of which 0.6 were fatal. That’s pretty good going for a country with the highest river densities of saltwater crocodiles in the world, and an active human population that spends a lot of time in and around water.

 

Although the rate of attacks has increased in the last decade (4.5 attacks per year since 2004), the fatality rate has actually fallen since the 1970s and 1980s from 57% (1974 to 1983) to 29% (2004 to 2013). Australia’s strong and mature crocodile management program can take a lot of credit for keeping fatalities low. Management in other countries within the saltwater crocodile’s range still has a long way to go, as evidenced by much higher attack and fatality rates (for example, since 2007, Timor Leste has had 53 attacks, 72% fatal; Sumatra has had 107 attacks, 49% fatal).

 

It’s not just humans that suffer from conflict. Some 250-300 crocodiles are killed around Darwin each year to reduce risks to people. Queensland is starting to adopt a similar approach.

 

The new CrocBITE website and database encourages contributions from individuals and agencies around the world. It was inspired by the success of the International Shark Attack File, which since 1958 has provided information and advice on shark attacks worldwide. Based in Florida and run by expert shark biologists, it stores more than 3,400 individual investigations into shark attacks globally from the mid-1500s up to the present.

 

See the video, where Queensland rangers show ABC News their technique of wrangling large crocs in the state’s far north.