Wildlife rangers in Sabah have killed five crocodiles in an effort to protect the safety of local residents following recent attacks. The Sabah Wildlife Department director, Augustine Tuuga, stated that the focus of the rangers was on larger crocodiles in specific areas where the reptiles targeted individuals in the Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, and Tawau districts. Tuuga added that four crocodiles were shot in Kota Belud and one in Lahad Datu. However, no crocodiles have been killed in the Tawau area as of yet. Although the slain crocodiles were not believed to be the ones involved in the attacks, they still posed a threat to the residents.
During the past month, three suspected crocodile attacks were reported in the aforementioned districts, and none of the victims have been found. The first incident took place on September 22 in Kota Belud, where 20-year-old Yusri Dulpi was attacked while fishing at a jetty in Mantanani. A search was conducted for 10 days, but Dulpi is still missing. The second case occurred on October 15 in Lahad Datu, when 50-year-old Salim Sakka went missing after a suspected crocodile attack while repairing his fishing net near Kampung Sungai Silabukan. Lastly, on October 19 in Tawau, a man known as Asdar was believed to have been snatched by a crocodile while fishing at a river in Kg Mas Mas.
In Sandakan, the Civil Defence Force (CDF) captured a 2m, 80kg crocodile in a drain at Taman Megah Lorong Jaya 3 on October 20. In recent years, Sabah’s wildlife rangers have faced the challenge of balancing conservation efforts with ensuring the safety of riverside communities due to the increasing conflict between humans and crocodiles. The shooting of crocodiles is only undertaken in areas where they pose a threat to residents.
In addition to these measures, the Wildlife Department has conducted awareness campaigns with riverine communities, providing information on precautions to take when encountering crocodiles through talks and distributing pamphlets. Experts have suggested that the rise in human-crocodile conflicts could be attributed to habitat loss and a decline in food sources, particularly large prey such as bearded pigs adversely impacted by the African Swine Fever outbreak.
