CHANNELS
Encyclopedia Astronautica
SERVICES
 
TerraDaily is downloading
Solomon Islands crocodiles dining out on arms amnesty
AUCKLAND (AFP) Jun 08, 2004
A firearms amnesty in the once troubled Solomon Islands has resulted in an explosion in the numbers of man-eating crocodiles, the New Zealand Herald reported Wednesday.

The country suffered four years of ethnic conflict on the main island of Guadalcanal which ended when a regional intervention force landed last August and, as part of their mission, rounded up all firearms.

Inspector Graeme Cairns, head of the New Zealand police group in the islands, told the newspaper that islanders now had no way to deal with the big crocodiles.

He said at least four people had been killed in the past six months, the latest being a young girl whose remains were found inside a five metrefoot) long crocodile.

"We are getting an increasing number of calls to deal with crocodiles, which is understandable," Cairns said.

"You don't want to kill one of those things with anything but a high-powered weapon from a distance."

Police say there is little point killing crocodiles as they are territorial and the death of one would result in it being replaced by another from the dozens that live in Crocodile River nearby.

The Solomon Islands, 2575 kilometres (1,600 miles) east of Australia has 494,786 people living on dozens of islands with a total land area of 27,540 square kilometres (11,016 square miles).

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
TerraDaily
Search TerraDaily
Subscribe To TerraDaily Express


Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
TERRA.WIRE
  • Protest as quake-hit Myanmar junta chief joins Bangkok summit
  • Myanmar military conducts over a dozen attacks since truce: UN
  • Myanmar junta chief arrives for summit as quake toll passes 3,000
  • Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
  • Myanmar's junta chief arrives for Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
  • Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
  • Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
  • Myanmar quake death toll rises over 3,000: junta
  • Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
  • Most deadly 2024 hurricane names retired from use: UN agency
  • The race to save the Amazon's bushy-bearded monkeys
  • Clamping down on 'forever chemicals'
  • Yana, a 130,000-year-old baby mammoth, goes under the scalpel
  • Crops under threat as surprise March heatwave hit Central Asia: study
  • 'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest
  • Cuba looks to sun to solve its energy crisis
  • Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial
  • Deadly storms batter central US, bringing 'historic' flood risk
  • Two dead as violent storms batter central-eastern US
  • EU delays 2040 climate target until summer
    SPACEDAILY NEWS
     Feb 03, 2005
  • German Robot On ISS Does Not Work
  • Temple Researcher Attempting To Create Cyclic Ozone
  • Analysis: Columbia's Harsh Lessons
  • NASA Selects Moon Mapper for Mission Of Opportunity
  • Welcome To Rhea: Impact Central
  • Swift Sees Pinwheel Galaxy, Satellite Fully Operational
  • China Launches Satellite TV Service In Asian Region
  • Illegal Dam Building Continues In China, As Strategic Oil Reserve Announced
  • Comsat International Wins Brazil Lottery Network For 9000 Locations
  • Experimental Radar Provides 3-D Forest View
  • Heat Response Evidence For Superfluidity In Cold 'Fermion' Gas
  • Global VC Funds Sharpen Focus On India
  • Oregon May Lead Future Of Wave Energy
  • NETL And Carnegie Mellon Create New Paradigms For Hydrogen Production
  • Analysis: CAN-SPAM, Tough Law Or Baloney
  • 400M Indians Endangered By Ozone Depletion
  • Changes in the Arctic: Consequences for the World
  • Yellow River Delta Being Eroded Away
  • Wax Proves A Perfect Model Of The Earth's Crust
  • Italians Make Earthquake Detecting Space Probe
  • Presumed Death Toll In Asian Tsunamis Passes 290,000
  • Japanese Ship Probes Focus Of Massive Quake That Caused Killer Tsunamis
  • Political Fur Flies Over Marine One Deal
  • Iran Uninterested In Missile That Can Reach Europe: Minister
  • Congress Was Told Of DoD Intel Plan
  • Guardian Targeting Hyperspectral Services For Satellite Reconnaissance
  • Analysis: Pakistan, Israel Put Out Feelers
  • India Closely Watching US Covert Ops In Northwest Pakistan
  • Rumsfeld Asks For Restoration Of Nuclear 'Bunker Buster' Program
  • Aurora Flight Sciences Team Selected For ER/MP First Phase
  • Africa, South Asia Head Climate Change's Hit-List
  • Refugees, Disease, Water And Food Shortages To Result From Global Warming
  • Bill Gates Presents Private-Public Research Plan For European Science
  • Lenovo Chairman Outlines Global Plan After IBM Takeover
  • US Lawmakers Urge EU To Maintain China Arms Embargo
  • Ukraine Leader Expected At NATO Summit
  • US Calls NKorea Back To Nuclear Talks
  • IAEA Chief Challenges Leaders To Beef Up Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • Homes Damaged As New Earthquakes Jolt Indonesia
  • Japanese Villagers Return To Island Five Years After Volcanic Eruption

  • The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2003 - TerraDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement