GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Out on a night hunt for mud crabs in a mangrove patch along the shorelines in Barangay Kawas, Alabel town in Sarangani, a resident hacked what he suspected was a large monitor lizard.

The fisherman immediately brought home the reptile. In the kitchen, he noticed something odd. It was not a monitor lizard that he killed, but a juvenile crocodile, prompting him to refer it to their village leader.

The incident happened a decade ago, early evening of September 21, 2014, according to records of the Environment Protection and Conservation Center (ECPC) in Alabel.

The day after, the dead reptile, which bore two hack wounds to the head, was brought to the ECPC, where biologists confirmed it was a juvenile saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).

A Kawas resident said the crocodile was caught using a trap, then hacked twice to the head.

The crocodile’s remains, already preserved, had since been on display at the Sarangani Wildlife Museum at the ECPC, a testament that saltwater crocodiles have been swimming in the waters of Sarangani Bay.

Two years before the Kawas crocodile-hacking incident, residents also found the remains of a saltwater crocodile along a creek in Malok, Labangal, General Santos City.

Roy Mejorada of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) said it was in July 2012, when residents stumbled on a dead crocodile along Malok Creek, a tributary of Sarangani Bay.

In these human-crocodile encounters, both reptiles ended up lifeless, possibly borne by lack of proper understanding and fear of crocodiles by many people, Mejorada said.

Dangerous mindset

“That usual mindset na nangangagat kasi (they bite),” remarked Marvin Sarmiento, a biologist with the Crocodylus Porosus Philippines, Incorporated. CPPI is a group of six crocodile farms in the country advocating crocodile conservation.

Wildlife conservation efforts actually benefit people and the environment, Sarmiento said. People usually see conservation efforts as giving more preference to wildlife than human life, which actually is not the case, he said.

“We are foremost for the protection of human life,” the CPPI field biologist said, as he tried to correct the impression of locals that his group is in Sarangani to shield from human attacks the crocodile that was sighted by a fisherman on August 27. Sarmiento, along with barangay officials, planned to capture it.

In earlier media pronouncements, Cirilo Lagnason Jr., SBPS area superintendent, said the August 27 video by a fisherman of a saltwater crocodile is the first documented sighting of the said species in Sarangani Bay.

Overlooked past

As early as 10 years ago, the Mabuwaya Foundation, which helped identify the crocodile killed in Kawas, said “the presence of a juvenile saltwater crocodile at the bay indicates that there could be adult species in the area.”

In her September 22, 2014, Facebook post about the crocodile killed in Kawas, environment planner and university professor Carilyn Martin said Mabuwaya recommended the conduct of research and information-education campaigns among residents “to address speculations.”

Incidentally, in a media forum here on September 22, 10 years after Martin’s social media post, government officials announced they will assess the situation and conduct information education among residents in coastal villages about the confirmed presence of saltwater crocodiles in the bay.

Mejorada said since September 19, they checked for possible natural habitats of crocodiles along the mangrove-laden coastlines of the bay. “There are possible habitats but these small spots cannot support a crocodile population,” he added.

The crocodile sightings since August 27 sent many coastal residents in Purok Minanga in Barangay Buayan here and in Lun Padidu, Malapatan town, worrying for their safety. Fisherman Carlo Cabradilla said that for days, his fellow fishers avoided the sea, fearing a crocodile attack.

With their livelihood at stake, the group of fishers in Purok Minanga agreed and called a challenge by their village chief, Rogelio Solis, who dared them to band together and swim out to sea to capture the crocodile.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Soccsksargen Executive Director Felix Alicer prevailed upon the group, telling them that they are risking their lives in what they planned to do.

He said there are experts who will help determine the needed course of action to be taken.

Human-crocodile conflict

“We need to also determine if there is human-crocodile conflict that affects livelihood, then we need to decide on whether to relocate or resort to adaptation, meaning humans and crocodile to co-exist in the place,” the DENR official said.

Sarmiento, whose four-man CPPI team joined DENR officials in investigating the presence of crocodiles in Sarangani, said the bay has an excellent ecosystem, making it attractive for marine wildlife to thrive.

The wildlife expert said they would need a longer time to assess what needs to be done, even as he pointed out that the presence of a crocodile in an area contributes to the well-being of the ecosystem. He residents can be educated about co-existence with crocodiles, which is being done in other places.

Sarmiento said that humans, having rational ability, must allow themselves to better understand the importance of wildlife and the entire ecosystem to human existence.

“Let us all kill ignorance and irrational fear for wildlife so that we can shift human-crocodile conflict to human-crocodile coexistence,” he said. – Rappler.com