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NEWS > SCIENCE > CROCODILES STALKING EARTH’S OCEANS
CROCODILES STALKING EARTH’S OCEANS
June 17 2010
Brisbane, Australia – For as long as man has gathered in societies we have dreamt of conquering the ocean. Perhaps it was the excitement of the unknown, perhaps it was something deeper in our DNA, but whatever it was, mankind has long taken to 
the oceans and seas of our planet. Such activity has allowed our species to virtually every corner of the globe, from the bright lights of New York City to the Tessellated Pavement of Tasmania, the oceans have allowed us to conquer the globe in ways no other species has ever come close.
Of course much of what lies in the ocean is still very much a mystery to us and despite our success in navigating the surface, the waterways of our planet still hold a great deal of mystery and danger. Whether it is man-eating fish, areas where vessels mysteriously vanish, or hurricanes destroying our conquered land, the oceans continue to conquer us no matter how sophisticated we become. With all those dangers still omnipresent throughout the mass that takes up the majority of the planet, the last thing we needed was yet another malevolent force in our oceans but according to researchers in Australia, that is exactly what we have in the form of crocodiles using the oceans to travel to far and distant lands.
“We looking through the data and found their movements correlated with the tidal flows in the rivers and that they were getting out onto the river bank when the tide changed direction. When we looked at data of crocodiles that had been tracked out to sea, they also seemed to be following seasonal currents to move around. They would wait until the currents changed directions and then use them to travel really long distances,” said Dr. Hamish Campbell of the University of Queensland. “They have an extraordinary ability to calculate the direction the currents are flowing and whether they will take them in the direction they want to go.”
The researchers gave no reason why the crocodiles might be travelling on ocean currents, but are certain that it isn’t simply a vacation.
“Much like the shark in ‘Jaws’ crocodiles do only a few things. They swim, they eat, 
and they make baby crocodiles. They have no other purpose in life like human beings.
They don’t have art or science or religion. They eat and eat and eat and if they are travelling to distant places they are likely doing it for one of those elemental reasons,” said Scrape TV Zoology analyst Cambridge Walker. “The real concern here is that they have seen this kind of activity all across the world. Having dangerous animals in Australia is one thing, they are used to it, but having them in real countries would be something totally different. Think of the possibility of crocs moving up the eastern seaboard of the United States and taking residence outside the White House or walking through Times Square with nothing to do but cause trouble.”
Though considered intelligent for reptiles, crocodiles generally have a brain the size of pea meaning that complex activities such as tours and picture taking are extremely unlikely.
“Crocodiles exist to eat. They are predators through and through and the last thing we need is these animals roaming freely throughout our oceans. The bigger threat, literally, would be that in the open water they would have the ability to grow incredibly large making them a much bigger threat than they already are,” continued Walker. “With things like giant squids and Krakens already a concern for sailors the last thing we need is one more threat in earth’s oceans. We need to do something about this as soon as possible.”
The Kraken is widely considered a mythological creature, though the oceans still remain largely unexplored.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
NEWS > SCIENCE > CROCODILES STALKING EARTH’S OCEANS
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