Assessment of human–crocodile conflict in Mexico: patterns, trends and hotspots areas
Jesús García-Grajales
A and Alejandra Buenrostro-Silva A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Instituto de Recursos and Instituto de Industrias, Universidad del Mar campus Puerto Escondido, kilómetro 2.5 Carretera Federal Puerto Escondido, Sola de Vega, 71980, San Pedro Mixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico.
B Corresponding autor. Email: alebsi@gmail.com
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(5) 708-720 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18150
Submitted: 7 April 2018 Accepted: 31 October 2018 Published: 7 January 2019
Abstract
An understanding of the factors, patterns of activities and seasonality per region that shape the response to the human–crocodile (HC) conflict in Mexico by humans is essential for prevention and mitigation of negative interactions. We compiled the publicly available data on incidents of crocodile attacks on the Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Pacific coast from January 2000 to the first days of January 2018. Of the recorded unprovoked crocodile attacks (n = 149) on humans in Mexico, 102 cases correspond to the Mexican Pacific coast and 47 to the Gulf of Mexico. The age of victims involved in the majority of the attacks ranged from 19 to 40 years old. Three municipalities of high risk (hotspots areas) were Puerto Vallarta, Lázaro Cárdenas and Pinotepa Nacional in the Mexican Pacific coast, whereas, in the Gulf of Mexico, only Bénito Juárez was of high risk. To mitigate this conflict, it is necessary that local authorities in the municipalities (mainly in those of high risk) establish public-safety programs with the goal of raising awareness of the risk of crocodile attacks on the basis of information status and distribution of the crocodile population, linked to the extent of HC conflicts, as a first step for better management and risk mitigation.
Additional keywords: crocodiles, management, wildlife conflict.
References
Álvarez del Toro, M. (1974). ‘Los Crocodylia de México. Estudio Comparativo’, 1a edn. (Instituto Mexicano de Recursos Naturales: México City, México.)Aust, P., Boyle, B., Fergusson, R., and Coulson, T. (2009). The impact of Nile crocodiles on rural livelihoods in northeast Namibia. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 39, 57–69.
| The impact of Nile crocodiles on rural livelihoods in northeast Namibia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Barrantes, L. D. (2010). Analysis of crocodile attacks in Costa Rica, 1990–2009. Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 29, 14–15.
Caldicott, D. G. E., Croser, D., Manolis, C., Webb, G., and Britton, A. (2005). Crocodile attack in Australia: an analysis of its incidence and review of the pathology and management of crocodilian attacks in general. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 16, 143–159.
| Crocodile attack in Australia: an analysis of its incidence and review of the pathology and management of crocodilian attacks in general.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Campbell, H. A., Dwyer, R. G., Irwin, T. R., and Franklin, C. E. (2015). Predicting the probability of large carnivore ocurrence: a strategy to promote crocodile and human coexistence. Animal Conservation 18, 387–395.
| Predicting the probability of large carnivore ocurrence: a strategy to promote crocodile and human coexistence.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Carrillo, R. N. (2013). Interacción entre el ser humano y el cocodrilo americano (Crocodylus acutus) en la cuenca del Río Tempisque, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. M.Sc. Thesis, Universidad Nacional Costa Rica, Costa Rica.
Carrillo, R., and Porras, L. (2016). Human–crocodile interaction in the Great Tempisque wetland, Costa Rica. In ‘Proceedings of the 23rd Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group of the Species Survival Comission of IUCN’, 26–30 May 2014, Lake Charles, LA, USA. pp. 325–331. (The World Conservation Union: Gland, Switzerland.) Available at http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/519dd10e67a0f30a85f13e5da65cb8ac.pdf [Verified 21 December 2018].
Casas-Andreu, A. (1995). Los cocodrilos de México como recurso natural. Presente, pasado y futuro. Revista de la Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural 46, 153–162.
Cedeño, J. R., Ross, J. P., and Calmé, S. (2006). Population status and distribution of Crocodylus acutus and C. moreletii in southeastern Quintana Roo, Mexico. Herpetological Natural History 10, 17–29.
Conover, M. R. (2002). ‘Resolving Human–Wildlife Conflicts: the Science of Wildlife Damage Management.’ (CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA.)
Das, C. S., and Jana, R. (2018). Human–crocodile conflict in the Indian Sundarban: an analysis of spatio-temporal incidences in relation to people’s livelihood. Oryx 52, 661–668.
| Human–crocodile conflict in the Indian Sundarban: an analysis of spatio-temporal incidences in relation to people’s livelihood.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dunham, K. M., Ghiurghi, A., Cumbi, R., and Urbano, F. (2010). Human–wildlife conflict in Mozambique: a national perspective, with enphasis on wildlife attacks on humans. Oryx 44, 185–193.
| Human–wildlife conflict in Mozambique: a national perspective, with enphasis on wildlife attacks on humans.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fergusson, R. (2004). Preliminary analysis of data in the African human crocodile conflict database. Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 23, 21.
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (2015). Fishery and aquaculture country profiles: the United Mexican States. Available at http://fao.org/fishery/facp/MEX/en [Verified 12 January 2018]
Fukuda, Y., Manolis, C., and Appel, K. (2014). Management of human–crocodile conflict in the Northern Territory, Australia: review of crocodile attacks and removal of problem crocodiles. The Journal of Wildlife Management 78, 1239–1249.
| Management of human–crocodile conflict in the Northern Territory, Australia: review of crocodile attacks and removal of problem crocodiles.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fukuda, Y., Manolis, C., Saalfeld, K., and Zuur, A. (2015). Dead or alive? Factors affecting the survival of victims during attacks by saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in Australia. PLoS One 10, e0126778.
| Dead or alive? Factors affecting the survival of victims during attacks by saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26020948PubMed |
García-Grajales, J. (2013). El conflicto hombre–cocodrilo en México: causas e implicaciones. Interciencia 38, 881–884.
García-Grajales, J., and Buenrostro-Silva, A. (2015a). Áreas de interacción entre humanos y cocodrilos (Crocodylus acutus Cuvier) en Chacahua, Oaxaca, México. Revista AgroProductividad 8, 25–33.
García-Grajales, J., and Buenrostro-Silva, A. (2015b). Apreciación local acerca del cocodrilo americano en las comunidades rurales del Parque Nacional Lagunas de Chacahua, Oaxaca. Etnobiología 13, 73–83.
García-Grajales, J., and Buenrostro-Silva, A. (2018). Crocodile attacks in Oaxaca, Mexico: an update of its incidences and consequences for management and conservation. Acta Universitaria 28, 1–8.
| Crocodile attacks in Oaxaca, Mexico: an update of its incidences and consequences for management and conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gopi, G. V., and Pandav, B. (2009). Humans sharing space with Crocodylus porosus in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary: conflicts and options. Current Science 96, 459–460.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (2015). ‘Marco Geoestadístico Nacional 2010.’ (INEGI: Ciudad de México, México.)
Lamarque, F., Anderson, J., Ferguson, R., Lagrange, M., Osei-Owusu, Y., and Bakker, L. (2009). Human–wildlife conflicts in Africa: causes, consequences and management strategies. Forestry Paper 157 FAO, Rome, Italy.
Lang, J. W. (1992). Social behaviour. In ‘Crocodiles and Alligators’. (Ed. C. A. Ross.) pp. 102–117. (Blitz Edition: London, UK.)
Langley, R. L. (2005). Alligator attacks on humans in the United States. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 16, 119–124.
| Alligator attacks on humans in the United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Langley, R. L. (2010). Adverse encounters with alligators in the United States: an update. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 21, 156–163.
| Adverse encounters with alligators in the United States: an update.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Madden, F. (2004). Creating coexistence between humans and wildlife: global perspectives on local efforts to address human–wildlife conflict. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 9, 247–257.
| Creating coexistence between humans and wildlife: global perspectives on local efforts to address human–wildlife conflict.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Manfredo, M. J., and Dayer, A. A. (2004). Concepts for exploring the social aspects of human–wildlife conflict in a global context. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 9, 1–20.
| Concepts for exploring the social aspects of human–wildlife conflict in a global context.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Padilla, S., and Perera-Trejo, E. (2010). Anotaciones sobre la percepción del cocodrilo de pantano por las comunidades mayas aledañas a la Reserva de la Biósfera Los Petenes. Revista Latinoamericana de Conservacion 1, 83–90.
Peña-Mondragón, J. L., García, A., Vega-Rivera, J. H., and Castillo, A. (2013). Interacciones y percepciones sociales con cocodrilo de río (Crocodylus acutus) en la costa sur de Jalisco, México. Revista Biodiversidad Neotropical 3, 37–41.
| Interacciones y percepciones sociales con cocodrilo de río (Crocodylus acutus) en la costa sur de Jalisco, México.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ponce-Campos, P. (2014). Human–crocodile conflict with Crocodylus acutus in Mexico, with comments on Crocodylus moreletii and Caiman crocodilus. In ‘Proceedings of the 23rd Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group of the Species Survival Comission of IUCN’, 26–30 May 2014, Lake Charles, LA, USA. pp. 246–255. (The World Conservation Union: Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.) Available at http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/519dd10e67a0f30a85f13e5da65cb8ac.pdf [Verified 23 November 2018].
Pooley, S. (2015a). Using predator attack data to save lives, human and cocodrilian. Oryx 49, 581–583.
| Using predator attack data to save lives, human and cocodrilian.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pooley, S. (2015b). Human crocodile conflict in South Africa and Swaziland, 1949–2014. In ‘Proceedings of the 23rd Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group of the Species Survival Comission of IUCN’, 26–30 May 2014, Lake Charles, LA, USA. pp. 25–30. (The World Conservation Union: Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.) Available at http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/519dd10e67a0f30a85f13e5da65cb8ac.pdf [Verified 23 November 2018].
Redpath, S. M., Bhatia, S., and Young, J. (2015). Tilting at wildlife: reconsidering human–wildlife conflict. Oryx 49, 222–225.
| Tilting at wildlife: reconsidering human–wildlife conflict.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sidelau, B., and Britton, A. R. C. (2013). An analysis of crocodilian attacks worldwide for the period of 2008–July 2013. In ‘Proceedings of the 22nd Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group of the Species Survival Comission of IUCN’, 21–23 May 2013, Negombo, Sri Lanka. pp. 110–113. (The World Conservation Union: Switzerland.) Available at http://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/Page-d6b4b094.pdf [Verified 23 November 2018].
Sideleau, B., Edyvane, K. S., and Britton, A. R. (2017). An analysis of recent saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) attacks in Timor-Leste and consequences for management and conservation. Marine and Freshwater Research 68, 801–809.
| An analysis of recent saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) attacks in Timor-Leste and consequences for management and conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thorbjarnarson, J. B., Mazzotti, F. J., Sanderson, E., Buitrago, F., Lazcano, M., Minkowski, K., Muniz, M., Ponce, P., Soberon, R., Trelancia, A. M., and Velasco, A. (2006). Regional habitat conservation priorities for the American crocodile. Biological Conservation 128, 25–36.
| Regional habitat conservation priorities for the American crocodile.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Treves, A., Wallace, R. B., Naughton-Treves, L., and Morales, L. (2006). Co-managing human–wildlife conflict within the lower Zambezi Valley. Wildlife Research 38, 747–755.
Wallace, K. M., Leslie, A. J., and Coulson, T. (2011). Living with predators: a focus on the issues of human–crocodile conflict within the lower Zambezi Valley. Wildlife Research 38, 747–755.
| Living with predators: a focus on the issues of human–crocodile conflict within the lower Zambezi Valley.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Woodroffe, R., Thirgood, S., and Rabinowitz, A. (2005). ‘People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence’, 1st edn. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)
Young, J. C., Marzano, M., White, R. M., McCracken, D. I., Redpath, S. M., Carss, D. N., Quine, C. P., and Watt, A. D. (2010). The emergence of biodiversity conflicts from biodiversity impacts: characteristics and management strategies. Biodiversity and Conservation 19, 3973–3990.
| The emergence of biodiversity conflicts from biodiversity impacts: characteristics and management strategies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
