Philippines Books

Archive for March, 2009

My daughters are always asking me if that dog bites or will this cat bite etc. I remind them that if it has teeth, it bites something with them! Sadly, a schoolgirl on her way to her floating school on Lake Mihaba in Mindanao was bitten by a saltwater crocodile estimated at 7m (23 ft) in length. Her boat was bumped by the croc and her headless body later found by locals.

The report, available online, is reproduced below:

A 10-year-old girl has been decapitated by a crocodile in a Philippine lake after it knocked over her canoe.

The girl and a classmate were on their way to their floating school on Mihaba Lake when the seven metre crocodile hit the boat and caused it to capsize.

Rescuers found the girl’s headless body floating on the lake yesterday.

Her classmate was rescued by a man escorting the pair in another boat.

Roel Hipulan from the group that runs the school said it was a monster crocodile.

He said saltwater crocodiles, some bigger than a bus, are known to inhabit the lake, though attacks are rare.

“The crocodiles have become aggressive,” he said.

The lake’s waters have been swollen for the past several months, causing fish to scatter to others parts.

The crocodile attack has prompted the evacuation of about 100 residents.

Saltwater crocs are rare except for some places in Mindanao and Palawan, where they are often large and nasty. We have them in tropical northern Australia and they are a worry, indeed. This is a timely reminder that not all the threats expats face are man made. Nature has some nasty surprises in store in the form of snakes, spiders, sharks, crocs, centipedes, viruses, typhoons, earthquakes and mudslides. Spare a thought for some of these and how exposed you and your loved ones are to falling foul of Mother Nature.