Australian Scientists Find New Crocodile Alert System: The Answer Lies in Genetic 'Fingerprints'

Scientists in Australia have come up with a new method to curb crocodile attacks in the island country—and it is related to the genetic footprint left behind by the deadly predator.

Knewz.com has learned that crocodile attacks have become a persistent problem in Australia following a significant population boom.

The Australian government has tried multiple strategies in its bid to curb the issue, including increasing the maximum number of crocodiles an individual can legally hunt .

However, given how mobile crocodiles are, a problem soon arose with this plan—after a crocodile is killed, another moves into its territory soon after.

With the newly devised method involving the genetic “footprints” of crocodiles, scientists believe they will be able to prevent crocodile attacks more effectively.

The research into the project is being funded by the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) of the Queensland Government, in collaboration with the University of Canberra, which is deemed as “a leader in Environmental DNA (eDNA) research.”

By collecting and analyzing the environmental DNA, or eDNA, scientists can identify the usual haunts of crocodiles and ask swimmers , boaters, and campers to avoid them.

Basically, the team of scientists collects water samples from various sources and looks for traces of crocodile DNA, if any, in the samples.

“We conducted trials to detect DNA in water samples collected from crocodile holding ponds at the DESI facility in Cairns, and compared them with control samples of water,” explained Dr. Peta Hill of the University of Canberra.

“We will use these trials to confirm estuarine crocodiles having been present in those ponds.”

In order to see how long the crocodile DNA stays in the source from where the water sample was collected, the crocodiles were removed from the pond at DESI, and a water sample was collected and analyzed again.

The results will be compared to water samples collected from sources where the deadly reptiles have never been.

“DESI Program Coordinator Simon Booth said wildlife officers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) hope the eDNA research will provide wildlife officers with a valuable technique for detecting crocodiles in waterways without having to see them,” a media release from the Queensland Government about the research read.

The program coordinator was quoted as saying about the new research:

“Occasionally, wildlife officers respond to a crocodile sighting report and our conventional methods such as land or vessel-based surveys don’t confirm the presence of a crocodile.”

“This program is in the preliminary phase, but if the research program is successful, wildlife officers could take water samples to detect crocodiles in waterways that are hard to access, or areas the public use regularly such as swimming holes.”

“We’re hoping the research project will allow us to reliably test water samples to detect the presence of crocodiles… Investigations into the eDNA detection are expected to continue for the next 12 months, but initial results are promising,” Booth added .

“People are responsible for their own safety in Croc Country, but eDNA testing could assist us in safely managing crocodiles in Queensland and across the country.”

The increasing number of crocodile attacks in Australia is a result of successful conservation efforts. The crocodile population in Australia crashed to 3,000 by the 1970s, mostly as a result of overhunting.

However, thanks to conservation efforts made since then, their numbers are somewhere around 100,000 currently.

According to reports , the most recent crocodile attack incident in Australia was earlier in August when 40-year-old David Hogbin fell into the Annan River in Queensland and was killed by a 16-foot-long saltwater crocodile.