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  Bernama 12 Oct 06
It's Human Hair In Croc Stomach, Says Chemist

PlanetArk 5 Oct 06
Stop Crocodile Hunts, Say Malaysian Wildlife Groups

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian conservation groups on Wednesday called for a halt to crocodile hunts in the wild jungles of Borneo mounted by Malaysians searching for the remains of a boy feared to have been eaten by one of the reptiles.

Four crocodiles have been caught since the attack on September 3 in a campaign that saw the boy's desperate parents even draft in traditional healers reputed to be able to communicate with the creatures, newspapers have said.

DNA samples taken from hair and scraps of underwear found in one captured animal, 5.5 m long (16 feet) and 200 kg (440 pounds) in weight, will be tested to identify the boy's remains, the Star newspaper said, quoting wildlife officials in the eastern state of Sarawak.

But conservationists fear the hunts could get out of hand, threatening animals they say prefer not to venture out of their riverine homes unless deprived of their usual food, such as small fish and animals.

"Normally they have sufficient food in the river, but now pollution and soil erosion leave them no choice," Loo Koi Sang, vice-chairman of the Malaysian Zoological Society told Reuters. "So the crocodiles leave the river to hunt."

Another group, the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), has described the hunts as a barbaric relic of the colonial era.

"The crocodile hunt seems a bit excessive," biologist June Rubis, who has worked in Sarawak for six years, told Reuters. "It's really sad that a boy was killed, but the fact remains that more people die from car accidents than from crocodile killings."

Rubis, the chairman of the regional arm of the MNS, called for awareness campaigns to help spread knowledge of the crocodile's role in the environment among the villagers.

"When you take a large predator out of the food chain, you see an increase in the numbers of prey species that then impacts the ecosystem in unpredictable ways," she added.

Malaysian wildlife officials, who estimate the crocodile population near the site of the attack to number 46, did not reply to requests for comment.

Bernama 12 Oct 06
It's Human Hair In Croc Stomach, Says Chemist

KUCHING, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- The strands of hair found in the stomach of a crocodile captured in Sungai Bako on Oct 2 have been confirmed to be that of a human being.

The crocodile was caught in the hunt for the killer crocodile which devoured a Standard Six pupil last month while he was looking for crabs.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation chief Wilfred Landong said following the findings by the State Chemistry Deparment, the corporation held a meeting with the boy's father, Hatta Abidin, to discuss the next plan of action.

"During the meeting, Hatta asked us to proceed with further testing of the hair strands to determine whether its DNA matches that of his son's," he said in statement Wednesday.

On Sept 3, Mohd Azuan, 12, was gobbled by a crocodile in Sungai Bako, a tributary of Sungai Sarawak, about 300m from his house in Kampung Bako, near here. A pair of underwear was also retrieved from the stomach of the six-metre crocodile which was snared in a trap by villagers in their hunt for the killer crocodile nicknamed "Bujang Bako" by locals to recover the boy's remains.

Landong said it would take at least a month before the DNA results of the hair samples would be known. He said the chemist had said the strands of hair have been severely damaged by chemical reaction due to the acidic sap found in the crocodile's stomach. "This may distort the DNA structure and thwart the effort to find the genuine match," he said.

He said the hunt for crocodiles, a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998, had since been stopped, while users of Sungai Bako have been advised to be careful when conducting their daily activities in the river.

The corporation had also sought the Wildlife Department's views to revoke permits issued to villagers to capture killer crocodiles, he added. -- BERNAMA
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