[Animals] A pig invasion in Australia could help save the world's largest crocodiles

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Crocodiles are lazy hunters, biologists say. For this reason, a non-native species of pig in Australia is easy prey for its voracious appetite.
Wild pigs in Australia know they are at risk when crossing rivers. Beneath the surface, they are likely to encounter a dizzying attack from one of the country's largest predators: crocodiles.

Only in northern Australia, documents the BBC, there is a record of about 300,000 crocodiles of different species. Distributed between the bodies of salt and fresh water, reptiles dominate much of the territory. Contrary to what might be believed, however, these reptiles are "lazy" hunters, as described by Mariana Campbell, a researcher at Charles Darwin University:

"CROCODILES EAT WHATEVER IS EASIEST AND WILD BOARS ARE THE PERFECT SIZE," THE SPECIALIST, WHO STUDYING SALTWATER CROCODILE IN THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY, EXPLAINS TO THE NEW YORK TIMES. “THEY ARE PRETTY LAZY HUNTERS. IF YOU ARE A CROCODILE, WHAT IS EASIER? DO YOU STAY NEAR THE BANK AND WAIT A FEW HOURS FOR A PIG? OR ARE YOU GOING TO HUNT A SHARK, AN ANIMAL THAT CAN SWIM FIVE TIMES FASTER THAN YOU?

Wild boars and other medium-sized mammals suffer the same fate. Weighing almost 70 kilos – as well as other of their favorite prey – they could be the largest meal of the day for an adult crocodile. Researchers couldn't be happier about this relationship: Until a few decades ago, feral pigs in Australia were the most destructive invasive species in forests.

Without a natural predator to stop their progress through the territory, they wiped out plant species that other native species needed for food. Thus, too, they unbalanced these ecosystems by a chain reaction. Now, it seems that they have found a rival worthy of their destructive capacity.

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Below the water

"A pig going down to the water's edge is like ringing the dinner bell," says Frank Mazzotti, an expert on crocodiles and alligators at the University of Florida. Although it might seem insensitive at first glance, biologists are glad that wild pigs in Australia have a natural regulator.

It should be taken into account that the species was artificially introduced in the eighteenth century. With the colonization of the territory, a wide diversity of animals were introduced to ecosystems that originally did not correspond to them. Some of them were wild boars and pigs, which adapted very well to the climatic conditions of the south. Perhaps too well, local conservationists think.

More than anything, because the Australian forests were the perfect setting for these invasive species to reproduce freely.

AFTER YEARS OF MAINTAINING CONTROL OF WILD PIGS (OR EVEN TRYING TO), IT SEEMS THAT NATURE IS PUTTING A STOPP ON THEM. NYT ENVIRONMENT REPORTER ANTHONY HAM DESCRIBES THE PHENOMENON AS REWRITING "THE COMPLICATED STORY OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NON-Native SPECIES TAKE OVER AN ECOSYSTEM."

In parallel, with this new feast near the rivers, the world's largest crocodiles are recovering after being on the brink of extinction. Once hunted for sport, today they are protected by Australia's environmental law—and they have a broader menu to fill their stomachs.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/los-cerdos-en-australia-promueven-la-conservacion-de-cocodrilos-nativos/