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Hugh Edwards
Crocodile Attack in Australia
Sydney 1988
Stron 192, format: 22 x28 cm
Książka używana: solidnie podniszczona obwoluta, podklejana, poza tym książka nie posiada defektów
Stan dobry
77 ilustracji, w większości kolorowych
The Crocodile:
Magnificent and Deadly Survivor
The crocodile is a royal remnant from a bygone age. He is related to the dinosaurs and once shared the world with them. Australian saltwater crocodiles are the world's largest terrestrial carnivores. They may grow to six metres in length. 1000 kilograms in weight and live 100 years.
A large crocodile can be invisible below the surface in only 45 centimetres of water. Yet he hears even footfall on the shore, registers each passing shadow of movement.
When the time comes to attack, the crocodile explodes through the surface in whirl of teeth and spray. Yellow eyes ablaze ... the complete and perfect predator. Nature's perfect trap.
In Australia men and women have been among its victims. Yet the crocodile itself has become a victim of Homosapiens. The evolutionary newcomer on the scene, man. reduced crocodile numbers by hunting and habitat alterations to levels where protection was needed to ensure their survival.
There has been a bloody interchange in the past between the two species. What does the future hold for this magnificent and superbly adapted creature?
Contents
Foreword by Paul Hogan 9
INTRODUCTION: THE 200-MILlION-YEAR SURVIVOR 10
The Unseen Presence 13
The fatal attack on attractive American tourist Ginger Faye Meadows at the King's Cascades on the Prince Regent River in March 1987.
Bad Tidings 27
The effect of the tragedy. The search for the body. Crocodile attack on the corpse bag. A husband's ordeal. "Why did no one tell her?" a mother asks. A single red rose.
A Difference in Lifestyles 43
A comparison of the growing up and formative years of a young crocodile with those of a human child, leading up to that fateful meeting 25 years on.
"I Hoped It Would Finish Me Quickly" 57
Val Plumwood's amazing escape after being caught twice and taken underwater by a crocodile in a series of death-rolls in the East Alligator River. Her struggle to survive her bleeding wounds and floods in a Northern Territory swamp.
Dark Waters of the Daintree 71
After Beryl Wruck was taken by a crocodile in Barratt's Creek by the Daintree River, at Christmas 1985, there were extraordinary Queensland mmours of a drug murder, and a dismembered body fed to the crocodiles. A shoot-out by vigilantes destroyed the Daintree's crocodile population before the 5-metre (16-foot) culprit was caught and human remains were found in its stomach.
'sweetheart' FROM the FlNNISS LAGOON 87
'Sweetheart' was a huge crocodile who declared war on boats and outboard motors. He mounted more than 15 attacks without harming a human being and achieved world fame, defending his territory against the buzzing mechanical invaders.)
Fatal Encounters 101
Fatal crocodile attacks in Australia in recent years. Crocodile-caused deaths in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The links between the killings.
Attack - Expect the Unexpected 117
An analysis of what makes a crocodile attack. How to cope with an attack if it occurs. Means of avoiding attacks. How to live in crocodile country.
See You Later Alligator - In a While Crocodile 133
The crocodilian family worldwide. The difference between crocodiles and alligators. A scientific look at the characteristics of the various species. Monsters, or just misunderstood?
Biting the Hand That Feeds 153
Alf Casey, who lost an arm to his pet crocodile. Stories of owners and crocodiles. Bushmen's tales. True and remarkable crocodile stories. The crocodile which up-ended a Toyota truck at the East Alligator River crossing.
Management of Crocodiles 171
The change in status from vermin to a conserved creature. Scientific differences of opinion over numbers. Interesting scientific discoveries. Crocodile lovers, and courtship. Harvesting eggs. Economic possibilities. The situation in differing Australian States.
What of the Future? 187
What does the future hold for Crocodylus porosus, and the crocodilians in general? Can they continue to exist in the modern world? Or are the surviving relatives of the dinosaurs doomed to join them in extinction?
Acknowledgements 191
About the Author 192 ,
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