Budong-Budong, Indonesia- Almost seven months after a crocodile attack almost took his life, Munirpa walked to the estuary outside his house with her husband and children, ready to challenge a recreation.
Munirpa, who, like many Indonesians, only uses a name, reported how an early morning in August, threw his domestic garbage into a stream about 50 meters (164 feet) from his house, as he would normally do.
She didn’t see what would come later.
When she realized that a crocodile had attacked her, the beast four meters long (13 feet) had already sunk her teeth in most of her body, saving only her head. She fought hard, trying to hit her eyes. Her husband, listening to her screams, ran and tried to get her out of the thigh from the crocodile jaws. There was a strip and loosen; The reptile hit him with his tail. Fortunately, she saved Munirpa on time, and finally dragged her out of the crocodile grip.
People have long feared the former predators in the Central District of Mamuju in the West of Sulawesi in Indonesia, where the Budong-Budong River meets the sea. For Munirpa, 48, that fear became a brutal reality when it became one of the almost 180 victims of attack of crocodiles registered in Indonesia last year. Residents like her are learning to coexist with crocodiles, a legally protected species in Indonesia, while balance conservation with the attention of their safety. But as attacks increase, several residents and experts have asked for better government interventions to prevent the problem from getting worse.
After the attack, Munirpa was hospitalized for a month and has had two surgeries. For February of this year, his fear was still clearly visible, as did the scars on his legs and thighs.
“I am so scared. I don’t want to go to the beach. Even in the back of the house, I dare not go, “said Munirpa.” I am traumatized. I asked my children not to go to the river, the backyard, or to fish. “
In the villages surrounding the Budong-Budong river, such as Munirpa’s, the crocodiles have become a daily conversation theme. Its presence has become so common that the warning signs now mark the areas where they lurk, from the mouth of the river to the river roads that were once a place of popular swimming for children.
In 2024, there were 179 crocodile attacks in Indonesia, the largest number of crocodile attacks in the world, with 92 deaths, according to CrocattackAn independent database. The videos of social networks that show appearances and crocodile attacks in Sulawesi and other regions in Indonesia are also increasing.
The increase in attacks began about 12 years ago with the increase in palm oil plantations around the river mouth, said the 39 -year -old crocodile manager Rusli Paraili. Some companies carved artificial river paths, linking them to most of the Budong-Budong River. It was then that the crocodiles began to deviate, leaving the river and dragging to nearby residential areas, such as fish and shrimp ponds, he explained.
Palm oil plantations now dominate the landscape in west Sulawesi, from the mountains to the coast, and patrol for crocodiles has become part of the daily routine of people. When residents check the water pumps in their ponds, they have no choice but to monitor the beasts (flashlights in their hand, sprout, already through channels and river roads) resigned to the disturbing reality of sharing their home with a predator.
The salt water crocodile has been a legally protected species in Indonesia since 1999, which makes it an animal that cannot be freely hunted. As a superior predator, there is also no control of the population in nature.
Paraili, the crocodile manager, said that while the law protects crocodiles from being killed, the increase in attacks is an important concern. In response, it deals with some of the crocodiles in an specially designed farm away from human populations. He has received some financial support from government and community donations, as well as the support of Palma oil companies during the last five years.
The farm has four ponds and about 50 reptiles. Some have names: oil, the largest, formed as a ship, or Karossa, which bears the name of the subdistrito, the animal was caught after fatally attacking someone.
When the funds are reduced, use their own money to make sure they feed, at least once every four days.
Amir Hamidy, who studies reptiles at the National Research and Innovation Agency, worries that the increase in attacks indicates that the number of crocodiles is becoming too dangerous. Hamidy supports better population control.
Being a protected species “does not necessarily mean that the population cannot be reduced when it is at a level that is really insecure,” he said.
About a year ago in Tumbu’s village, Suardi, which takes a name, was reaping coconuts when they fell into the river. When he went to recover them, he was attacked by a crocodile that initially did not notice. Since then it has recovered completely.
Even so, experience has made it more cautious. “Yes, I’m worried. But what else can we do? “Suardi said.” The important thing is that we are careful enough. “
Together with Munirpa, Suardi is one of the 10 people in the region that was attacked by a crocodile last year. Three of the attacked were killed.
Suyuti Marzuki, head of the West Sulawesi Marines and Fishing Agency, said that the crocodile habitat change is doing daily activities of people, such as coconut harvest, fishing or even getting rid of garbage like Munirpa, very risky.
Marzuki said the government is looking for possible options that can provide economic and security alternatives for residents.
Although he acknowledged that the population number of crocodiles and ecosystems must be protected, Marzuki also raised the possibility of reinforcing the local economy through the skin of the skin of crocodiles. That industry is controversial due to animal conservation and well -being problems.
Paraili, the crocodile handle, also urged serious government interventions.
“This is a matter of human lives. So, when the government is not serious, then our brothers and sisters in the future, in 5 or 15 years, will be even more than they will die for being attacked by crocodiles,” he said.
Residents such as Munirpa and Suardi are waiting for more immediate and realistic steps from the authorities to guarantee the safety of their community and families.
“It is enough that it has been bitten by a crocodile,” Munirpa said. “I will not let my children happen to my children.”
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