In the Australian territory where the girl was killed, crocodiles cannot outnumber people, says a leader

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The crocodile population in Australia’s Northern Territory must either be kept stable or reduced and must not outstrip the human population, the territory’s leader said after a 12-year-old girl died while swimming.

The crocodile population in Australia’s tropical north has exploded since the animals were declared protected under Australian law in the 1970s. When hunting was banned, there were 3,000 animals; today there are 100,000. There are just over 250,000 people living in the Northern Territory.

The girl’s death came just weeks after the territory adopted a 10-year plan to combat crocodiles. The plan allows the targeted killing of the reptiles at popular swimming spots, but does not foresee a return to mass killings. Crocodiles are considered a threat in most of the Northern Territory’s waterways, but crocodile tourism and crocodile farming are important economic factors.

“We cannot allow the crocodile population in the Northern Territory to exceed human population,” Premier Eva Lawler told reporters on Thursday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “We need to keep our crocodile population under control.”

In this week’s fatal attack, the girl disappeared while swimming in a creek near the indigenous community of Palumpa, southwest of the territory’s capital, Darwin. After an intensive search, her remains were found in the river system, where she disappeared with injuries consistent with a crocodile attack.

In the Northern Territory, 15 people died in crocodile attacks between 2005 and 2014, and two more died in 2018. As saltwater crocodiles live up to 70 years and grow throughout their lives – they can reach lengths of up to 7 metres – the number of large crocodiles is also increasing.

Lawler described the deaths as “heartbreaking” and told reporters that 500,000 Australian dollars ($337,000) had been allocated for crocodile management in the Northern Territory’s budget next year.

According to NT News, the region’s opposition leader, Lia Finocchiaro, told reporters that more investment was needed.

The girl’s death “sends a message that the territory is unsafe and that we do not need more bad headlines on top of the law and order and crime problems,” she said.

Professor Grahame Webb, a well-known Australian crocodile researcher, told AuBC that more public education was needed and that the government should provide financial support to indigenous ranger groups and research into crocodile migration.

“If we don’t know what the crocodiles are likely to do, we’re still going to have the same problem,” he said. “Killing them won’t solve the problem.”

Efforts to capture the crocodile that attacked the girl were ongoing, police said Thursday. Saltwater crocodiles are territorial and the crocodile responsible is likely in nearby waters.

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Associated Press reporter Rod McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.