Could the Attack By a Crocodile on a Young Mexican Boy Been Avoided?

A Morelet's crocodile in Cancun.

Crocodiles and people have long coexisted with each other. Both of them rely on lakes, rivers, and other water bodies for survival. But when the two species share the same water body, there is always a potential of conflict where one gets either seriously injured or killed. This has been an ongoing case in Africa, southern Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia where majority of crocodile attacks on people are reported. But recently, there has been a case reported near Mexico's El Palmar Beach where a six-year-old boy was attacked by a three-meter-long Morelet's crocodile. The boy, who hailed from the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta, wandered away from his parents with his sister. The pair went to a nearby estuary, next to the Pacifica Resort, which has a fenced off area and a bridge above it. The area is known to be frequented by crocodiles. Witnesses saw a crocodile grab the boy by the head and pulled him into the water to try a death roll, a technique the reptiles use spin and drown their prey. Tourists and a hotel lifeguard attempted to scare the crocodile away by throwing stones, hoping that it would release the boy. The hotel medical staff arrived on the scene to care for the boy, who had sustained a number of bites on his head, arms, legs, and chest after being dragged underwater for about ten minutes. He is currently being treated for his injuries at the general hospital.

View of El Palmar Beach

It really terrifies me whenever a victim of such an animal attack is a small child. But could the attack on this six-year-old child have been avoided? Normally Mexico's crocodiles prey on insects, fish, frogs, lizards, and small animals. But this news also points out that the Pacifica Resort hotel staff allegedly feed the crocodiles to entertain the tourists at the same estuary where the attack happened. It goes to show that crocodiles living near the resort inadvertently turned into man-eaters, due to the negative influence of tourism. It is easy to blame the crocodile for such a horrific attack, but this behavior has been attributed to the mindless actions by the resort staff all in the name of entertainment. I'm thankful that this poor child was rescued in time, but he could have been killed. It aggravates me that when carnivorous animals become accustomed to handouts given by people, they become dependent on people for food and therefore lose their natural ability to catch their own food. This is exactly what has been going on at this estuary and it has to change. I strongly urge the staff of the Pacifica Resort to refrain from entertaining tourists by feeding the crocodiles and should focus on implementing protective measurements to keep both tourists and crocodiles safe from each other. Mexico's crocodile numbers have been increasing in recent years with populations of swamp crocodiles comprising around 54,000 to 100,000 animals. Although the crocodiles are protected, not everyone, including hunters, agrees they should be protected. This has got to change! Workshops and awareness programs need to be conducted to educate the public about the importance of crocodiles to Mexico's ecosystems and how human influence turns them into man-eaters. There should also be an emphasis on identifying areas with crocodile presence and most of all, establishing rules and regulations to prevent any further crocodile attacks on people.

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