Crocodiles With Frickin' Magnets Attached to Their Heads

Brickwall writes "Florida, faced with a problem of crocodiles returning to residential neighborhoods after being relocated elsewhere, is trying to solve it by affixing magnets to the crocs' heads. The theory is the crocodiles use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation, and the magnets may interfere with that. What I'd like to know is, whose job is it to put the magnets on?" So far the magnet program appears to be working, unfortunately the crocs have started to collect huge amounts of take-out menus and child artwork.

Comments

Natural selection

[Harmonious Botch]

Not trying to troll here, but why not just shoot them? Some crocs appear to love to be around humans, some not. Kill the ones who do, and let the ones who prefer to stay away from people have the chance to breed. In a few decades, we'll have a race of human-adverse crocs.

Re:Natural selection

[TheLink]

"why not just shoot them?"

Because most people don't like handbags with bullet holes in them. Same goes for wallets.

As for belts, it's hard to get the holes consistently in the right places.

Re:Natural selection

[tpgp]

In a few decades, we'll have a race of human-adverse crocs.

In a few decades huh? Your understanding of genetics is as simplistic as your understanding of crocodile behaviour.

As a previous poster has said, the objective is to relocate, not shoot them. This species of animal is also considered vulnerable (quote) or facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates it as Endangered, or in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The primary threat to this animal comes from habitat loss.

Re:Natural selection

[Tablizer]

why not just shoot them?

Because you might damage perfectly good magnets, silly.
       

Re:Natural selection

[anagama]

In a few decades, we'll have a race of human-adverse crocs.

Bad idea. Humans tend to find human-adverse aversive.

Re:Natural selection

[ssintercept]

The primary threat to this animal comes from habitat loss.

it should read- The primary threat to this animal comes from the human race.

for the record: i am not any leftie, granola eatin, moonbeam hugging retard.

however, this cavalier attitude towards destroying life because it is inconvenient is just maddening to me.

Re:Natural selection

[CarbonShell]

First, this has nothing to do with natural selection.

Actually you even show a clear ignorance for natural selection because you want to kill the ones that actually adapt and have become better hunters and can thus provide more food.
I.e. the basis for evolution under the 'natural selection' (I'm kinda keeping it simple)

Without wanting to start a pro/contra hunting argument, it is kinda like saying you are helping nature by going hunting.
Uhm, no. What you are doing is simply cutting down the healthy ones and leaving the rest.
While naturally speaking you should be hunting the sick, weak and old (like their natural predators do).
But then which hunter wants to eat that meat?

Second this is not only an issue with Crocs but with many more animals. Or should I say it is less of an animal then of a human issue.

Unlike humans, animals still need to hunt for their food and are not particularly picky when they find something they can eat.
And the easier they can get to it, the better.

This is where we come in.
* trash:
It might seem like trash for us but anything edible you throw away will probably attract animals.
Note, this does not exclude trash that is not thrown into the bin but can basically include anything we drop or store like bread crumbs or our basement food stock.

* habitat:
Rodents like mice, rats or cockroaches are typically problems in our habitats, among others to the above-mentioned trash issue.
But you might think, hey these are only mice, we were talking about Crocs, you would have to remember that there are animals out there that hunt these, f.i. snakes.

In addition to that our habitats are also warm/cool and protect us from the weather.
And if they protect us, they also protect animals.

Plus our other technological advances attract animals a well.
F.i. Tar roads that can heat up quite nicely are ideal places for reptiles.
Some animals love our hoses and wire isolation.

* pets:
Even our own pets are viable food sources to hunters and our domestication can cause them to lose their natural suspicion.
And maybe that log they are sniffing is not really a log.

* animal habitat reduction:
As humanity increases in size we stupidly also increase our habitat size in crazy proportions and thus reduce that of the animals.
This makes it easier for animals to enter our habitats.
Kinda like if you compare the distance between towns 100 years ago to now. Back then the habitat spheres were far from each other. Today these spheres are much closer, touch or even overlap.

Plus the amount of crocs might also be forcing the crocs to hunt in larger areas.

But it would probably be more of the former then the latter.

Humans are not interesting as a food source for most of the animal kingdom.
To big, tough meat, hard to catch and dangerous.
Nearly all accidents of animals attacking humans was because the humans were playing around in areas they should not be.

More humans die in Africa due to Hippoes then to Crocs.
More humans die in Australia to Jellyfish then to sharks.

Re:Natural selection

[MrNaz]

You forgot to end with "Also, fuck you."

Re:Natural selection

[Muad'Dave]

...artificial selection for a specific desired result - basically, de-facto breeding of shy crocs. This is interesting, though likely illegal and unworkable.

Illegality aside, these scientists artificially selected 'shy' foxes for breeding and ended up with tame, dog-like foxes. Fascinating read, BTW.

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Please read and understand the summary before asking stupid questions.

Why not just shoot them?

Because the objective is to relocate them, not to kill them.

Also, fuck you.

I can't imagine the croc being very happy about being dizzy all the time.

They use the magnetic field for navigation, not balance. Crocodiles don't even have a sense of balance as we know it, what with having no internal ears and all.

More over how does this stop them from wondering in to town?

If they can't find the town, they can't exactly wander through it, now can they?

Re:Interesting.

[RuBLed]

It seems that it was only used while transporting the crocs to disorient them so that they cannot find their way back.

Re:Why?

[TapeCutter]

"Why not just shoot them?"

Here in Australia the authorities also try to avoid shooting problem crocs, instead they send them to a croc farm for handbag breeding.

Re:Crocs? In Florida?

[NoKaOi]

Yeah, crocodiles, in Florida. From the article:
State biologists are studying the temporary use of magnets to disrupt the internal navigation of federally and state-protected American crocodiles, which have been spotted most often in neighborhoods of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

And because every good /. comment requires a wikipedia reference: American Crocodile: "...there is a remnant population of less than 1200 in Florida, United States"

Crocs? In Florida? Yes, actually.

[Tsar]

There are no Crocodiles in Florida, except in zoo's or animal parks. There are plenty of Alligators however.

These are American crocodiles.
And yes, there are plenty of alligators in Florida—which is why they aren't endangered.
The American crocodile is endangered, however, which is pointed out in article that you didn't read.

Go North Young Crock

[Tablizer]

Now they all walk north. Alaskans will have more than polar bears to worry about now.
   

Re:Why?

[tpgp]

I am not the AC you're replying to, but:

What makes you think for a second that I was advocating they be shot?

Maybe because you said "Why not just shoot them?"

Wonder around enough and you'll wonder into a town.

Yeah, but we're not talking about wandering into town, we're talking about them going back to the same place they've been removed from.

Honestly - if you'd read the article, you'd have had no reason to ask the questions you did.

Re:Why?

[Zedrick]

Why not shoot the people of Florida? I can't imagine people being happy about living in crowded, polluted cities all the time. The population is way too big and alligators, unlike humans, doesn't destroy the environment or to drive other species to extinction. Not to mention that they were there first.

Re:Why?

[Warll]

Um, alright, ah, ok I got one, they'll shoot back and bullets aren't free. Now why not go to bed?

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

I was asking why not to shoot them, not saying that they should be shot.

Frankly, you're an idiot and someone should shoot YOU. And, it's "wander", not "wonder", you brainless twit.
Also, fuck you. :-)

Which just goes to prove the rule

[hyphen76]

That there is nothing you cannot solve with some judicious use of duct tape.

Re:Which just goes to prove the rule

[Gandalf_Greyhame]

That there is nothing you cannot solve with some judicious use of duct tape.

Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together

Re:Which just goes to prove the rule

[FinchWorld]

Well as seen as these jokes are coming out, heres something I've noticed, specifically you only ever need 2 tools, WD40 and duct tape.

If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape.

It it doesn't move and it should use WD40.

So what happens if you spray WD40 on duct tape. I've considered testing it, but I fear it might cause some sort of paradox, leading to this reality imploding.

Re:Which just goes to prove the rule

[Gandalf_Greyhame]

I forgot the password to my RSA key, I need to restore it... how to do this with my hammer?

you can either:
a) beat yourself over the head with said hammer until such time as your brainwaves have ceased (thus negating the need for your RSA key)
or
b) attack the encrypted drive with the hammer until such time that it has turned to dust, therefore reducing the problem to that of irrecoverable data loss.

While it is true that your RSA key cannot be recovered with a hammer, these two examples show that the problem can still be simplified with the use of a hammer

Re:Why?

[Zwicky]

Why not just shoot them? I can't imagine the croc being very happy about being dizzy all the time.

To be honest I think they'd like being shot even less.

Like many hardcore geeks

[Zwicky]

I don't use harddrives. I just use crocodiles with magnets stuck to their heads.

(I'll get my coat.)

Re:Why?

[dougisfunny]

I assume you believe, though you say someone should shoot him, that he should not be shot. That's the trend here right?

Better crocodiles with magnets

[Jane Q. Public]

than alligators with gun turrets.

Memorable Quotes in Slashdot

[troll8901]

Here are the catchy one-liners from this thread alone:

• "Why not just shoot them?"
• "Also, fuck you. :-)"
• "For once, an AC that I can agree with!"
• "Now why not go to bed?"

• "Would you care to volunteer to be the first for this grand experiment?"
• "Great, let's start with you."
• "As for you mods... get bent."

Someone should keep a list of memorable quotes in Slashdot. :-)

Re:Crocs? In Florida?

[delvsional]

There are no Crocodiles in Florida, except in zoo's or animal parks. There are plenty of Alligators however.

Actually, the article is about crocodiles and it is correct. There are crocodiles. About 2000, the species has made a great comeback from near extinction due in large part to the cooling canals at Turkey Point power plant. There are 186 Miles of cooling canals that are 5 feet deep and 200 feet wide. If you look on google maps near the homestead raceway, it looks like a giant radiator. This area is protected from all civilian interference and the animals thrive there. Other areas that the crocodiles go to are the biscayne bay and the everglades. they travel back and forth using the canal systems.

Re:Why?

[RMH101]

Can we adopt the:
4) Also, fuck you
as our new group meme?

Re:Florida? Crocs? Huh?

[Xest]

"Alligators in Florida! Crocodiles in Africa, Asia, Australia."

And er... the Americas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Crocodile

Re:Why?

[dotancohen]

The people responsible for shooting the people responsible for shooting the troll, have been shot.

Re:Interesting.

[b4upoo]

As a long time Florida resident with a heavy involvement in water sports I would just love to congratulate the state for bringing crocs back into my immediate environment. The joy of confronting a ten foot crocodile weighing about 500 lbs. on a popular beach is hard to describe. I did discover that unlike Jesus I can not walk on water.

Re:Interesting.

[tritonman]

Great, now not only can crocodiles kill YOU, now they can kill your hard drive too!

Re:Why?

[ozphx]

Well as an Australian, I often ask the "Why not just shoot them?".

We end up with a bloody Koala problem, where they are overpopulated, and are going to die of starvation. The greenies persuade everyone that the population needs to be reduced. So a cull right?

Hell no. We go in there and neuter them. At several hundred dollars per animal. We knock them out, and cut their nuts off, and stick them back up a tree. All this because they are cute and fluffy.

Of course when it comes to kangaroos, we just shoot them. Guess they didn't evolve to be fluffy and loved by hippies.

These are the same hippies that block the creation of firebreaks... because it destroys the native vegetation. Hows the native vegetation doing now?

FFS. This is why democracy fails - you get raving loonies like this (and our religious net censorship advocate) holding the balance of power.

Re:Interesting.

[ChinggisK]

As a native Floridian I'd rather have them on your beach than in my pool.

Re:Interesting.

[sir_eccles]

Technically it was the crocodile's beach first. Perhaps we should consider strapping magnets to the heads of surfers and relocating them to your pool instead.

Re:Interesting.

[Oktober Sunset]

I'll bear that in mind when I steal your laptop. How long do I need to keep it before it's mine?

Re:Interesting.

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, water sports are technically illegal in florida under anti-sodomy laws.

Re:Interesting.

[LeadLine]

Long enough to get the police to call off the search... If they even try.

Re:Interesting.

[Anonymous Coward]

As a LIFE LONG Florida resident who's tired of being disturbed by all the noise pollution generated by your jet skis and ski boats I'm cheering for the crocs.

Also, your immediate environment? Your environment is land sonny boy; you don't have gills, you don't have fins, no tail, can't hold your breath more than a few minutes. This is why we had to invent snorkels, SCUBA and why you have to wear a life vest on your water craft. See, the water is the crocs environment and trespassers may be eaten.

Re:Interesting.

[Overzeetop]

Yeah, but that's one tough son of a bitch to do watersports with a crocodile. Makes that whole trapeze, midget and running start thing seem pretty mainstream if you ask me.

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, here we go:

1) Attach magnets to alligators
2) ???
3) Profit!!!
4) Also, fuck you

Re:Interesting.

[Synn]

We have both. We have alligators in most of the state and some crocodiles in the southern part of the state.

The alligators are pretty benign. I encounter them all the time when I'm kayaking and they leave you alone. They're pretty scared of people and about the only time they'd attack is if they mistook you for food or if you got between a mama and her babies.

Crocodiles are supposedly territorial though and much more aggressive.

Re:Interesting.

[fugue]

As territorial and aggressive as humans?

Re:Why?

[NudeAvenger]

not sure if having sex with a handbag is a persuasive enough argument to keep those crocs out of trouble.

Re:Interesting.

[datapharmer]

Nile Crocs aren't the same as American Crocs. They are two completely different species. And in Florida we have Alligators and American Crocodiles. You can see both in some areas of South Florida around the nuke plants.