Why so many crocodile attacks in Indonesia?

Indonesia has the highest incidence of saltwater crocodile attacks in the world. In the last decade, there have been about 1,000 such crocodile attacks, in which 450 people have died.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says about 90 of these attacks have occurred in Banga and the nearby Belitung Island.

Banka Island is one of the richest tin-mining areas in the world. The island is roughly the size of Hawaii and has a population of about 1 million, 80 percent of whom work in tin mines. More than 60 percent of the island has already been converted into tin mines, according to environmental group Walhi. Many of which are illegal.

Years of underground tin mining have deforested the island, leaving numerous craters across the island that now look like the surface of the moon. And thus, when the land is running out, the workers are slowly moving towards the sea.

That means saltwater crocodiles, which can live in open clear water, have also lost their natural habitat. As a result, they are now taking shelter next to people’s houses in abandoned and open mines, from which attacks are also increasing.

Last year, due to climate change, the dry season was longer than usual, and the well in front of Saria’s house dried up. His water line was cut when his bill was three months in arrears. As a result, abandoned pits became the only source of water for him and his family.

Five days after the crocodile attack on Saria, another worker was almost killed by a crocodile attack while washing tin in the water of another pit. They suffered severe head, shoulder and hand injuries.