Crocodiles

[Nedly]

Couldn't work out if this should go in Nature or Fishing, so stuck it here instead.

Was watching the TV last night in Brisbane, it was a David Attenborough programme called In Cold Blood, or something like that anyway. This show is the first in a series on cold blooded animals, snakes, lizards etc.
During the show he explained, and showed, how Salties prepare for a bit of the horizontal folk dancing, this preparation includes the croc's blowing bubbles at each other.

WTF !

We were fishing a stretch of river in Lakefield National Park towards the end of August last year when, in the middle of the river, bubbles started to appear on the surface of the water. There were too many bubbles, and they were too large, to have originated from a turtle.
Someone suggested it could be a lost scuba diver ;)
At the time we all settled on my suggestion that it was probably rotting vegetation on the bottom of the river that was causing these bubbles.
We kept our eyes on these bubbles though, just in case they started to move towards us.

Or was it rotting vegetation?, could it have been a couple of love struck Salties getting it on.

What time of year is breeding season for Salties ?
I thought it was during the Wet, maybe they were just getting in early.
No matter what caused the bubbles I will now remember that particular fishing experience a little differently.

BTW, I did have a Barra make a false strike at my lure while we were there, but no hookup, and I wasn't using one of Ants 'favourite' :rolleyes: lures either.

[Stacky]

'Courtship begins in October/November, with nesting spread over several months from December to April'.
This is a cut out of an EPA website.
The "Nothern Territory Australiasoutback.com" says Adult males mate in July and August.
I wouldn't rule out that what you saw could have been a couple of love birds (croc style).
The crocs rely on weather conditions for that perfect moment and they may have chosen an early start.

[ant]

Nedly,
I have seen this before ( a few times ) in billabongs and lagoons and yes I believe it is crocs. Apparently, long long ago ( no this is not a bedtime story...) this is how the crocs were hunted by the local Aboriginal people. They would paddle around in the canoes and watch for bubbles and then hurl the spear into the water in the direction of the bubbles. Another method was to make a lot of noise on the water and watch which was they bubbles went to track them down.

Lets hope that any wayward scuba divers were not hurt in the process!!!

[campdog]

Ive seen those sort of bubbles in the bath.Its showers only from now on.

[ant]

Okay Campdog,
Any suggestions of camping trips with you are now off limits!

Are you the one they referred to as 'Mr Bubbles'???

[campdog]

Okay Campdog,
Any suggestions of camping trips with you are now off limits!

Are you the one they referred to as 'Mr Bubbles'???
Not recently, but when we go camping the turtles get the blame.

[batesy]

Not recently, but when we go camping the turtles get the blame.

You could always try telling the missus you've got your hands on a big croc!

[Nedly]

Thanks Stacky, Ant
That was our first croc sighting in Lakefield, without realising it.
Will be looking for these signs of underwater activity this year.


As I was writing the post I was thinking there were too many references to bubbles.
I was wondering how long it would be before the famous Mr. B would be referred to.

Likewise, I was wondering who would be the first to raise their bathing habits, now I'm stuck with this mental image of Campdog in the bath wearing a pink bikini, giggling about all the bubbles :eek:
(Not really, though it makes good editorial.)

[campdog]

Thanks Stacky, Ant
That was our first croc sighting in Lakefield, without realising it.
Will be looking for these signs of underwater activity this year.


As I was writing the post I was thinking there were too many references to bubbles.
I was wondering how long it would be before the famous Mr. B would be referred to.

Likewise, I was wondering who would be the first to raise their bathing habits, now I'm stuck with this mental image of Campdog in the bath wearing a pink bikini, giggling about all the bubbles :eek:
(Not really, though it makes good editorial.)

Get that image out of your head,its not nice I can tell you.
50 year old 6ft 4",115kg, grey hair wearing a bikini and farting in the bath.
"Whose been talking to my mrs"

[MTpockets]

Thanks for the "mental scaring" boys.......
:rolleyes:

[Nedly]

Get that image out of your head,its not nice I can tell you.
50 year old 6ft 4",115kg, grey hair wearing a bikini and farting in the bath.
"Whose been talking to my mrs"

Who's been talking to your wife?, from that description I'd guess a counsellor :)

[campdog]

Well, you guys asked for it.Anyway I lied,im 6ft 6 and 118kg and its a one piece.

[highlift80]

Sounds like your an Olympic weight lifter John.

[campdog]

Sounds like your an Olympic weight lifter John.

Olympic dead weight I think.

[geoffjy]

It is always hard to tell whether bubbles in the water are crocs or not. It could be either a croc or just gas that has built up over time and has just come to the surface.

In regards to the mating of crocs. For every 10km, in large river systems, generally there is one dominant male croc (alpha male) to 10 females. So you can imagine that he will be one busy boy come mating time. One thing that only a priveleged few get to see in the wild is when the male is trying to court a female he will rise to the surface and rase his tail and head out of the water. He will then pass air out through a flap of skin in the throat which will cause vibrations in the water. This attracts the female.

Offspring in the wild will grow approximately 1 foot a year (depending on food supply) until they get to about 9 ft. After that they will grow as little as 1-4 cm a year.

Female crocs only grow to 9 ft or so while males can get considerably larger. Officially, the largest croc shot in Australia was just over 28ft.
Unofficially, the Pavloski's claim to have shot a 32ft croc in the territory and have video footage to prove it. However, this was not recognised as sufficient proof. The wife was the shooter and the husband was the skinner.

Going back a feew years, the Papuans used to hunt crocodiles. They would head out in canoes with 4 long poles. They would see a croc lying on the bottom then they would drive the poles down just in front of the legs but close to the body. This effectively stopped the croc from trying to get away. They would then dive down and tie the croc up and tow it back to shore.

Just a bit useless info for those interested.

Geoff