More Crocodile Attack Fatalities

A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is reported to have attacked and killed a woman whilst she was collecting reeds in the Shire River (Mangochi district, southern Malawi).  Mangochi Police Station Public Relations Officer, Inspector Rodrick Maida stated that the deceased had been in the river gathering reeds with two female friends when the crocodile grabbed her.  The women were unable to free the victim from the crocodile’s grip and ran to nearby houses to fetch help.

Crocodile Attacks

A search conducted by a group of villagers from Mtalimanja also ended in tragedy when Walani Lawe (aged 51) was attacked and severely injured whilst attempting to retrieve the woman’s body.  The dead woman’s body has yet to be recovered.  Mr Lawe was taken to Mangochi District Hospital and it has been reported that he is responding well to treatment.

This attack comes just a few days after another fatal crocodile attack this time in Papua New Guinea and the species concerned was a Saltwater or Estuarine crocodile (C. porosus).  Several media sources have reported that a four-metre-long reptile attacked and killed an eleven year old boy whilst he fished with his parents.  The incident took place on the Siloura River in Gulf Province, in the southern part of Papua New Guinea. The attack occurred on Thursday afternoon.

Authorities Make Statement

Police Commander Lincoln Gerari, said in the statement that the boy had been identified as Melas Mero.  Following the fatal attack, a large crocodile was tracked by hunters and killed.   The boy’s limbs and part of the hips were found inside the crocodile’s stomach.  Other body parts have been recovered by the police team.

Describing the sudden attack, the Commander explained:

“The crocodile swept the boy with its tail and then attacked the defenceless child.”

This is the second fatal crocodile attack to be reported from Papua New Guinea in 2014.  On January 1st a man was killed by a Saltwater Crocodile at Rawa Bay in North Bougainville.   According to a Darwin based, crocodile data recording team, this is the seventy-fifth crocodile attack recorded in Papua New Guinea since 1958.  Of these seventy-five attacks, sixty-five have proved fatal.