Crikey! Look at the Tail on this girl!

SINGAPORE--I took one last trip to MacRitchie Reservoir but failed to see a crocodile. If I had, I was supposed to call and report it. What would happen if I called up? "Umm.. I just wanted to report a 6-foot croc sort of lurking around the fishing pier." Would a voice suddenly bellow from the earpiece: "Isn't she a beauty!!"?

What would they do with one if I reported it anyway? Well, this wandering naturalist is not above doing a little research. Turns out 3 crocs were spotted in a 30-day period from August to September last year, compared to only 1 crocodile all year in 2002. All three of last year's string were rounded up and turned over to the Singapore Zoo. (Maybe Steve Irwin, the Australian "Crocodile Hunter" I quoted, does make guest appearances.) I breathe easy in my hiking sneakers (too hot here for boots).

Horrible thought--to be eaten by a wild animal. Judging by recent movies, Open Water and Anacondas, the idea still thrills.

So what's the most dangerous predator? Well, in 25 years, crocodiles have killed 13 people in Australia, while sharks killed 31 in Australian waters* The Wyndham Crocodile Farm in Australia holds 3000 crocodiles, bred for their skins. (Crocs 13, people 3000. Hmmm...) Singapore also breeds crocodiles for their skins at the Crocodile Farm on Upper Serangoon Rd., and the Singapore Crocodilarium on East Coast Parkway has over 1000 crocodiles and a "reptile products shop."

As to sharks, well, there were about 54 worldwide attacks annually in the 1990s. Not fatalities, mind you, just attacks. Type the words "shark fishing" into an Internet search engine and you will find more than 54 companies willing to help You kill Them.

What animal is directly responsible for the most deaths every year in the U.S.? Big Bad Wolves? Bears? Snakes? Nope. There have been only 45 fatal bear attacks since 1900 in North America. Venomous snakes kill about 15 people a year in the U.S. Constrictors (anacondas!) about .4 people a year. (Maybe that's the size of a dead victim. Har.) Mountain lions? 7 fatalities in all of the 1990s. Spiders? There have been 15 deaths in Texas since 1980. Killer bees? Only 6 deaths in the U.S. so far. Dogs? Their bites account for 18 deaths in the U.S. per year. Our own croc relative? Florida recorded 9 fatalities from alligator attacks from the years 1948 - 1999.

Give up yet? It's Bambi! Yep, the white-tailed deer is nature's equivalent of a suicide bomber: more than 130 human deaths in the U.S. per year due to that frozen-in-the-headlights action. Too bad we're short on Big Bad Wolves, huh?

Now, what animal is Indirectly responsible for the most human deaths? That would be the mosquito, since it's good at transmitting malaria, West Nile virus, neat stuff like that.

Makes crocodiles a little less fearsome, doesn't it? Who is the "animal" responsible for the most human deaths? Humans, of course! The homicide rate in the U.S. in 1996 was 19,645 people, or 7.4 in every 100,000 people. Violence kills more than 1.6 million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization. "Violence" means homicide/suicide/armed conflict. It is the leading cause of death in the world for those between the ages of 15 and 44. Then add in all the motor vehicle accidents (average from the late '80's in the U.S. was 48,411) and firearms accidents (1464, same time, same place) and you will come to the same conclusion I have:

If you want a safer world, stop making babies and start raising wolves and crocodiles.

If you insist on rearing humans, however, at least raise them to share Steve Irwin's respect for our elders, the crocs that have been around as a species for 2 million years.

Isn't she gorgeous!!

*References: Greg Milner Perth at http://www.finetravel.com/asiaaustralia/crocs.htm
CNN article at http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/06/19/other.attacks/
http://www.bees.ucr.edu
http://www.mindspring.com/~bbsnews/neth-us1.htm