Two Crocs Found In Sattahip Tourist Diving Area

[webfact]

Two Crocs Found in Sattahip Tourist Diving Area

Tourists, divers, navy men and sailors were shocked to discover two three meter long sea crocodiles near popular diving area in Sattahip Bay.

SATTAHIP – June 3, 2012 [PDN]; Rear Admiral Vinai Royal Thai Navy was notified by Captain Aphakorn Yukongkaew that they had found the two large crocodiles near a diving point on the north of Juang Island, Sattahip, Chonburi province.

The crocs were spotted two days ago. The officers photographed the two reptiles; one large and the other one smaller.

Rear Admiral Vinai Klomintr commanded Captain Aphakorn Yukongkaew to arrange team with diving equipment and weapons to chase away crocodiles around Koh Juang, Koh Samaesarn, Koh Jarn as soon as possible because the news had spread Thai and foreign divers about the crocs who possibly could be man eaters. The news about the crocs could damage the reputation of Sattahip, Chong Samaesarn area which every year attract many divers.

Full story: http://www.pattayada...st-diving-area/

-- Pattaya Daily News 2012-06-05

[Siriam]

Crocs in the sea water ?

[GeorgeO]

Crocs in the sea water ?

What's so bad about finding a pair of Crocs on the beach. Maybe someone just took them off while they were having a dip....!

[Wombat6]

Crocs in the sea water ?

You obviously haven't heard of " Salties ' (Salt water Crocs ) .they basically live in the sea and do travel up Rivers and establish territories. No sense in chasing them away as they will only return to their 'territory", They will have to be captured and relocated or sold to a Croc. farm.

[DiamondKing]

Yep not uncommon to find Saltwater Crocs in SALT WATER

DK

[josephinebloggs]

It's always everything else that can damage the reputation of Thailand, i've never read however that it's Thailand that damages the reputation of Thailand.

Just an observation.

& to clarify, they must be Saltwater Crocodiles, not Sea Crocodiles, of which there is no actual species.

That picture in no way confirms the Crocodlies being there neither.

[dksharron]

I am really surprised that the Navy did not plan to catch them and sell them.

[Siriam]

Crocs in the sea water ?

You obviously haven't heard of " Salties ' (Salt water Crocs ) .they basically live in the sea and do travel up Rivers and establish territories. No sense in chasing them away as they will only return to their 'territory", They will have to be captured and relocated or sold to a Croc. farm.

Thanks for the explanation :-)

[manutoo]

That picture in no way confirms the Crocodlies being there neither.

I think you should go to check your eyes, they are clearly just next to the mermaid & the sea lion..!

[thurien]

I am really surprised that the Navy did not plan to catch them and sell them.

sell them? eat them!

[FarangBuddha]

As an experienced diver in Thai waters, I have always wondered if there were any true salt-water crocodiles in the area. My question is if these were true "salties," which can grow to 7-8 meters and are very dangerous or only a couple of ordinary river crocs, which just happened to be sunning themselves on the beach, and while still dangerous, they are not a serious menace to ocean scuba divers.

[LucidLucifer]

What threat do these actually pose to scuba divers in open water?

Do they actually hunt in deep water, or stay in the shallows? I'd take it as a given if you invade their territory you're asking for trouble, but what exactly is their territory?

[gaucho]

in oz salties r the dangerous ones freshwater crocs usually just give u a nip and dont carry on with it salties stalk you ...sometime back a large number of crocs escaped in pattaya ...some were spotted off of the beach ...at no time were the public alerted ...that is foreigners the story was published in thai ...language newspapers ...only after prompting and lots of sightings did the story break ..this is a truly amazing country

[Whidbeyboy]

Crocs in the sea water ?

Some of the meanest buggers ever. Aussies can tell you about these guys as they have let the populations soar and they can get BIG and nasty. I think this would be the worst way to go. Some stories of tourist becoming lunch have been on TVs "when animals attack" type shows.

[how241]

It's always everything else that can damage the reputation of Thailand, i've never read however that it's Thailand that damages the reputation of Thailand.

Just an observation.

& to clarify, they must be Saltwater Crocodiles, not Sea Crocodiles, of which there is no actual species.

That picture in no way confirms the Crocodlies being there neither.

Click the link---it shows that the caught one.

[Basil B]

Some of my best diving memories are down at Samaesarn.

I do hope the RTN manage to capture them before they breed.

[sandrabbit]

these crocs need to be careful otherwise it will be a case of Thai people crocodile eaters on the loose, apparently the river populations of these creatures have crashed due to over eating.

if you look at the population maps for salties their territory extends all the way up from Australia to the Gulf of Thailand but this is the first time I've actually heard of them in the gulf.

[Goshawk]

it's quite possible that they are true Saltwater Crocodiles Crocodylus porosus, Thailand's coasts are well within their natural range. The thing is, they haven't been recorded (*or 'reported' - big difference!) for many years..

My opinion is that they are simply escaped captive bred animals. The hybrid crocodile that's mass farmed all over the country is the result of cross breeding the Saltwater (C.porosus) with the Siamese (C.siamensis).

Here's an escaped one i photographed near the popular tourist waterfall Heaw Suwat in Khao Yai NP several years ago...

...this animal was less than a Km away from people swimming in the river.

*as you can imagine, Its not always in Thailand's tourist industry interests to publish such news.

[Rimmer]

Search for salt-water crocodile off the coast of Samaer San in Sattahip continues

SATTAHIP:--The search for a 3 meter long salt-water crocodile which has led to a temporary diving ban off Juang Island located in Samaer San sub-district continued on Monday following the discovery and capture of a similar sized crocodile in the area over the weekend.

Although rarely seen in this area, the salt-water crocodile which is described as an opportunistic apex predator is relatively common throughout Northern Australia, south-east Asia and India and is known as one of the more aggressive types of crocodile. Royal Thai Navy search teams were out in the area on Monday and Tuesday looking for a second crocodile which had been earlier spotted by fishermen but were unable to locate it.

Full story:http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/56479/search-salt-water-crocodile-coast-samaer-san-sattahip-continues/

-- Pattaya One 2012-06-05

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Screws]

Search for salt-water crocodile off the coast of Samaer San in Sattahip continues

SATTAHIP:--The search for a 3 meter long salt-water crocodile which has led to a temporary diving ban off Juang Island located in Samaer San sub-district continued on Monday following the discovery and capture of a similar sized crocodile in the area over the weekend.

Although rarely seen in this area, the salt-water crocodile which is described as an opportunistic apex predator is relatively common throughout Northern Australia, south-east Asia and India and is known as one of the more aggressive types of crocodile. Royal Thai Navy search teams were out in the area on Monday and Tuesday looking for a second crocodile which had been earlier spotted by fishermen but were unable to locate it.

Full story:http://www.pattayaon...ahip-continues/

-- Pattaya One 2012-06-05

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Next headline on PattayaOne 'headless corpse found on SamaeSan beach'

Probably just a freshie -

Edited June 5, 2012 by Screws

[BwindiBoy]

Sorry, but they need to catch these (not chase them away) and return them to the farms where 100+ escaped during last year's floods. It's not just about divers; it's about swimmers / locals too.

[FarangBuddha]

it's quite possible that they are true Saltwater Crocodiles Crocodylus porosus, Thailand's coasts are well within their natural range. The thing is, they haven't been recorded (*or 'reported' - big difference!) for many years..

My opinion is that they are simply escaped captive bred animals. The hybrid crocodile that's mass farmed all over the country is the result of cross breeding the Saltwater (C.porosus) with the Siamese (C.siamensis).

Here's an escaped one i photographed near the popular tourist waterfall Heaw Suwat in Khao Yai NP several years ago...

Very cool pix!

My understanding is that we are dealing with three possibilities here: 1) A true, but rather small saltie. I have seen maps which show the gulf and Andamen sea areas of Thailand being within their range but never read any confirmed reports in the general. Or diving press of any sightings of them. 2) Thailand does have its own native croc. specie, as you note, but it is very rare as it has been hunted almost to extinction. And 3) A hybrid croc. that you find at the croc. farms and are raised for shows, meat, and leather goods. During floods, these buggers escape into the wild.

My guess would be that the crocs. sighted in the Samaesan area, are of the latter variety. However, does anyone know if river crocs. or hybrid varieties would be seen swimming in salt-waters?

...this animal was less than a Km away from people swimming in the river.

*as you can imagine, Its not always in Thailand's tourist industry interests to publish such news.

[Goshawk]

does anyone know if river crocs. or hybrid varieties would be seen swimming in salt-waters?

think you mixed up your post somewhere inside mine.

but yes.. as the farmed hybrids are heavily cross bred Saltwater with Siamese.. they could in theory tolerate, live & thrive in estuaries & the sea no problem. In practice, no ones ever intentionally released a group of them into the seas around Thailand (as far as i know) for long term monitor & to find out - for obvious reasons.

a heck of a lot of hybrids escaped from farms in the last floods into the river systems, most rivers flow to the sea & not all of them were caught..

[sbk]

does anyone know if river crocs. or hybrid varieties would be seen swimming in salt-waters?

think you mixed up your post somewhere inside mine.

but yes.. as the farmed hybrids are heavily cross bred Saltwater with Siamese.. they could in theory tolerate, live & thrive in estuaries & the sea no problem. In practice, no ones ever intentionally released a group of them into the seas around Thailand (as far as i know) for long term monitor & to find out - for obvious reasons.

a heck of a lot of hybrids escaped from farms in the last floods into the river systems, most rivers flow to the sea & not all of them were caught..

That was my thought too Goshawk.

Altho the husband says there were saltwater crocs on the islands (Samui, Phangan) when his parents were young adults they were all gone by the time he was born.

[allan michaud]

these crocs need to be careful otherwise it will be a case of Thai people crocodile eaters on the loose, apparently the river populations of these creatures have crashed due to over eating.

if you look at the population maps for salties their territory extends all the way up from Australia to the Gulf of Thailand but this is the first time I've actually heard of them in the gulf.

I saw one in the Andaman Islands (Indian Andamans) in 1997. They can travel huge distances, however having seen the pic of the animal they caught I suspect it's an escapee as it looks very underweight (the ridge on it's back looks far too prominent).

[Dap]

Crocs in the sea water ?

Wow! haven't ever heard of salties in the Thai arena. These are the bad boys.

[NomadJoe]

A mate of mine saw a dead one while on a dive at Racha Yai last week.

[NomadJoe]

A mate of mine saw a dead one while on a dive at Racha Yai last week.

Here's the pics from Racha Yai.

[Gary A]

Since this made the news they won't be there very long. Thais are fond of crocodile meat and the hide is worth money too. They will actively be hunting the crocs.