12 Vet Info-H • Sep–Dec 2023 • Vol 11 • No. 4 World’s Largest Captive Crocodile Turns 120 Industry News Wild Animals Wandered Farther During COVID-19 Lockdowns The world’s largest crocodile, Cassius, which is living in captivity, has turned 120 years old. It is the estimated age of Cassius, as he was born in the wild and then taken captive. Per scientists, it is difficult to determine a crocodile’s age based on its size. At the juvenile stage, crocodiles usually grow in irregular spurts, with males typically growing bigger than females. Once they reach adulthood, the rate at which they grow slows down, and eventually, they stop growing. In 1984, researchers captured Cassius on a cattle farm southwest of Darwin, Australia, where he was attacking the livestock. He was ferried to Marineland Crocodile Park (Green Island, Australia). At that time, Cassius was estimated to be between 30 and 80 years old, was 5.13 m long, and was the biggest crocodile ever caught alive in Australia. He has been growing and is unusually big. Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) typically live for more than 70 years, according to the nonprofit conservation organization Oceana. Source: Pare S. World’s largest captive croc turns 120, giving scientists ‘serious knowledge on longevity’. https://www.livescience.com/. Published June 7, 2023. Accessed June 21, 2023. A new GPS study found that during 2020, the restricted human mobility during the COVID-19– induced lockdowns led to rapid changes in the movement behavior of some wild mammals. The dataset analyzed the GPS coordinates of 2300 individual mammals from 43 species, worldwide. The scientists compared the movement behavior of the animals during the initial lockdown period in 2020 and the same time span in 2019. Individual movement and road avoidance behavior varied across species and regions globally. The study revealed several consistent effects. For example, in regions where the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were stricter, animals traveled on average 73% farther than the previous year. This suggests that most animals in these locations were exploring the landscape more, when the vehicular and human movements were reduced. The brief period of “anthropause” (slowdown of human activity during the pandemic) helped researchers understand the complex ways ecosystems responded to the sudden void of people. The findings throw light on the ability of some animals to explore human-inhabited areas and expand their habitats when human activity reduces, as well as on the lesser-known environmental effect of vehicular activity. Source: Sankaran S. Wild animals roamed much longer distances during covid lockdowns, GPS study finds. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/wildanimals-distance-covid-lockdown-b2355692.html. Published June 12, 2023. Accessed June 21, 2023. Image for representational purposes only.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAwNDg=