The National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) of Costa Rica today began an investigation to improve the control and management of crocodiles in the North Pacific, to counter negative interactions with human beings.
Supported by the Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism, the Sinac initiative seeks to estimate the population of crocodiles in the rivers of the North Pacific slope, which will allow an estimate of the number of crocodiles in these rivers, their sizes and sex and with it initiate long-term monitoring of the displacement of these organisms.
Addressing negative interactions
The foregoing, Sinac specifies, to prevent and address negative interactions with human beings, since during the Covid-19 Pandemic they have registered a greater presence of crocodiles in places of tourist attraction.
The executive director of Sinac, Rafael Gutiérrez, pointed out the importance of park rangers knowing the diversity and status of wild crocodile populations in order to make decisions about their status and protection.
Also, he continued, “to carry out species samples that allow estimating their populations and implement a management strategy to achieve coexistence with crocodiles and reduce attacks in the North Pacific”.
The regional director of the Tempisque Conservation Area (river in the province of Guanacaste), Nelson Marín, explained that the investigation is based on the knowledge of the neighbors about the places where they have seen or had encounters with crocodiles.
Proposing conservation actions
Then, he explained, they will carry out an analysis of the cartographic information of the area and later night tours of the rivers to count and capture individuals who, once their sex has been measured and identified, are released. All this will allow Sinac to generate information on the population status of crocodiles to propose conservation actions.
Likewise, he highlighted, it makes possible to implement identification, prevention, monitoring and management strategies to achieve coexistence and greater knowledge of the species, in order to conserve it and reduce the risks of attacks on humans.
