THERE is an uneasy co-existence bordering on a love-hate relationship between crocodiles and the people, especially the Ibans, that stems from the belief that the reptile is the reincarnation of their mythical hero.
According to Iban legend, a powerful warrior named Bujang Senang from Saribas was born anew in the body of a crocodile after he died in battle some 200 years ago.
It is said when buried in the bank of the Saribas River, he transformed into a huge white crocodile that, according to native folklore, still rules the river basin today.
Bujang Senang had vowed to seek revenge on his enemies and their descendants in his reptilian form. Some people still believe that accounted for the periodic crocodile attacks in the Saribas area.
Generally, those living by crocodile-infested rivers believe there is some kind of truce between crocodiles and humans that keeps them from harming each other. Alas, this truce has been broken from time to time by both sides although the poor croc usually got a bad press when it attacked people while humans killing crocodiles hardly made a ripple in the news.
Bujang Senang is a relatively recent legend since crocodiles have been in existence for 60 million years. So the reptiles have been around well before Bujang Senang, the warrior, was born but the crocodylidae species may not be around for long if nothing is done to conserve them.
An effort towards this end is the International Crocodile Convention (ICC) to be held in Sarawak on Oct 19 and 20 when experts from East Asia (Australasian countries and Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG) will share information on crocodile conservation and human-crocodile conflicts.
The ICC will also assess conservation made by Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei and consider any proposal to downlist salt water crocodiles from Appendix I to Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species for wild fauna and flora (CITES).
Animals listed in Appendix I are totally protected from hunting as they are considered in danger of becoming extinct while Appendix II listing allows for quota-controlled hunting and trading of the animals so listed.
The ICC will come up with recommendations on crocodile distribution, habitats and risks on humans for East Asia- Australasian region with special focus on Borneo. It also will provide a avenue for capacity-building by Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) staff on crocodile conservation, research and human–crocodile conflict management, and enhance conservation and research programmes with renowned institutions worldwide.
The main speakers are crocodile technical experts in East Asia- Australasia region, CSG and the International Union for Conservation of Nature — Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC).
The ICC is organised and sponsored by the SFC in collaboration with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
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