Are there crocodiles in Australia? Freshwater crocodile
As soon as you discover a loss, immediately contact the lost and found office at the airport of arrival: most likely, your things are already there. To pick them up, you will have to present your passport and fill out necessary documents and perhaps pay some amount for storage. For example, in Domodedovo it is 44 rubles per day, in Vnukovo - 70.
If your luggage was not found at the airport of arrival, then contact the airport of departure (especially if the flight is transit). In this case, if the luggage is found, you will have to wait some time until it arrives at the final destination.
In order not to be afraid of losing your luggage, you can purchase special insurance on Tutu.ru when purchasing an air ticket. If your suitcase goes the wrong way, you will receive up to 10 thousand rubles.
By the way, if you join our bonus program, you can receive such insurance as a bonus.
Lost items can also be searched through special system World Tracer, which includes about two thousand air terminals around the world. You fill out a form about lost luggage, and the data immediately goes into a common database, where it is compared with already registered information about forgotten items. If the data matches, then you can track their location and timing of arrival in the city where you are now.
In some European cities lost items are handled by special services, for example Easyfind in Switzerland or the Groundforce association, which is responsible for transporting luggage for a number of air carriers (operating at 27 airports in Spain and Morocco). You can find out if there is a similar service in the city you need by typing “lost property” into a search engine. Links to the lost and found office at the airport will immediately appear in the list of results.
In any case, if your item is found and is in storage, check whether you have to pay for it. And don't forget to take your passport with you when you go to pick her up.
Photo: Jaromir Chalabala / Shutterstock
Where do lost items go?
All things forgotten at airports and airplanes migrate to the lost and found office ( Lost and found) or unclaimed baggage rooms, which are located in every air terminal. They are transferred there by crew members or cleaning company employees who clean airliner cabins. If an item is found by airport staff, it will also be taken to the lost and found office. All unowned items must first undergo a safety check.
How long are things stored?
By Russian laws, checked baggage is stored free of charge at the arrival airport for two days. After this, the carrier or service organization is responsible for it. If the baggage tag contains the name and contact information of the owner, the airline will send him written notice about how to receive the items. From the moment the letter is sent, the suitcase will remain in storage for another six months, and if the owner is not identified, then the countdown will begin from the day the baggage arrives at the airport.
Items lost on the plane are also stored for no more than six months, after which they are subject to sale or destruction. If in hand luggage or there are perishable products in unclaimed baggage, they are disposed of.
At foreign airports, items forgotten on planes must be stored for two years (according to international rules), but hubs often transfer luggage for sale after three months, setting the storage period themselves.
Photo: asiandelight / Shutterstock
I heard that my things might be sold at auction. This is true?
No, if you realize about the loss, they will simply return it to you. Another thing is forgotten luggage that no one needs.
In Europe and the USA, sales of forgotten items at special auctions are very popular. From the event is arranged a real holiday, attracting hundreds of people and members of the press. The main intrigue is that the contents of the suitcase remain a mystery until it falls into the hands of the new owner.
In Germany, sales of forgotten items are held by the Wendt auction house. Here you can purchase unclaimed luggage and items from Lufthansa. About 20 such events take place throughout the country every year.
In the UK, several auction houses - Greasby's, Wellers, BCVA - are engaged in sales of ownerless items from aircraft.
Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Airport also hosts large-scale sales. A couple of years ago, about two thousand forgotten suitcases were among the lots.
Sales of unclaimed luggage in different times hosted by Turkish Airlines, Polish LOT Airlines and many others.
One of the largest luggage auctions in the world is held twice a year in international airport Miami, where about 10 thousand items are lost annually. It is in it that the heroes of the program “Baggage Wars”, which airs on the Discovery Channel, participate. Items come to this auction after two months of storage. There are so many of them that there is simply not enough space at the airport to look for owners longer. To enter the auction, you need to pay three dollars.
One more famous place, where you can buy items forgotten on planes is the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro (Alabama, USA). Total area Unclaimed Baggage Center exceeds 12 thousand square meters. Luggage is brought here whose owners have not been found within three months. Here you can find clothes, accessories, electronics, jewelry, books and even musical instruments. Over the decades, the store became a major tourist attraction in Alabama.
Australian freshwater crocodile, or Johnston's crocodile- a reptile of the family of true crocodiles, lives in fresh water bodies in the north of Australia.
It was originally named Crocodylus johnsoni, that is, Johnson's Crocodile, due to a misspelling of the name of its discoverer, Robert Johnston. Although the error was corrected some time later, both names still appear in the literature.
It's relative small view crocodiles - males very rarely grow more than 2.5-3 m; it takes 25-30 years to reach this size. Females are usually no more than 2.1 m. The muzzle is unusually narrow, with sharp teeth. The color is light brown with black stripes on the back and tail, the belly is lighter. The scales are quite large, on the sides and outside paws round shape.
Like all narrow-snouted crocodiles, the main diet of this species is fish. Additionally, adults can feed on amphibians, birds, small reptiles and mammals. Usually the crocodile sits and waits until the prey gets close enough, and then grabs it fast movement heads. During the dry season, its activity decreases significantly due to lack of food and lower temperatures. The freshwater crocodile is considered harmless to humans. Although it can bite when threatened, its jaws are not strong enough to cause serious damage.
Eggs are laid in July-September, when the water level in the river drops significantly.
About 2/3 of the nests are destroyed by monitor lizards and wild pigs who manage to seize the moment when their parents leave them unprotected. In some years rainy season occurs very early, and as a result all nests can be flooded.
Freshwater crocodile lives in northern regions Australia: in the states of Western Australia, Queensland and especially the Northern Territory.
Prefers fresh water bodies- rivers, lakes and swamps. In years when the numbers of its main competitor, the saltwater crocodile, decline, it is also found close to the coast, for example in river mouths. IN upper reaches The rivers are inhabited by a smaller (no larger than 1.5 m) and dark variety of freshwater crocodile, but it is believed that it does not form a separate subspecies.
The total number of the species is relatively stable and amounts to 50-100 thousand individuals. In the 1950s and 1960s, the freshwater crocodile was hunted for its skin, but measures were soon taken to protect the species. Nowadays, crocodiles are bred on small farms for their skin. The main threat to the species is habitat loss. Since the 1970s, programs have been in place to study and monitor the abundance of freshwater crocodile.
). Although the error was corrected some time later, both names appear in the literature.
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Crocodylus johnstoni (Krefft, ) |
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Security status Least Concern IUCN 3.1 Least Concern: |
Appearance
This is a relatively small species of crocodiles - males very rarely grow more than 2.5-3 m, and it takes 25-30 years to reach this size. Females are usually no more than 2.1 m. In areas such as Lake Argyll and National Park Nitmilek previously encountered individuals up to 4 meters in length. The snout is unusually narrow, with sharp teeth. The number of teeth is 68-72, there are 5 premaxillary teeth on each side of the jaw, 14-16 maxillary teeth, 15 mandibular teeth. The color is light brown with black stripes on the back and tail, the belly is lighter. The scales are quite large, round in shape on the sides and outer sides of the paws.
Lifestyle
Like all narrow-snouted crocodiles, the main diet of this species is fish. Additionally, adults may feed on amphibians, birds, small reptiles and mammals. Usually the crocodile sits and waits until the prey comes close enough, and then grabs it with a quick movement of its head. During the dry season, its activity decreases significantly due to lack of food and lower temperatures. The freshwater crocodile is considered harmless to humans. Although it can bite when threatened, its jaws are usually not strong enough to inflict fatal injuries on an adult.
Reproduction
Eggs are laid in July-September, when the water level in the river drops sharply, 6 weeks after mating. Females of the same population, according to research, lay eggs in the same three-week period. They dig holes on the river bank, often very close to each other, and lay eggs at a depth of 12-20 cm. One female lays from 4 to 20 eggs. The incubation period ranges from 65 to 95 days depending on incubation conditions (usually about 75-85 days). At a temperature of about 32 °C, males develop; females develop 2 degrees above or below this value. However, with significant temperature fluctuations, cubs of different sexes can hatch from the same clutch.
About 2/3 of the nests are destroyed by monitor lizards, Australian crows and wild pigs, which manage to seize the moment when their parents leave them unprotected. In some years, the rainy season comes very early, and as a result, all nests can be flooded. If the clutch is preserved, at the end of incubation the female hears the call of the hatching crocodiles, digs up the nest and takes them to the water. However, sometimes crocodiles can hatch and get to the water without the help of their parents. The father guards the offspring for some time, although not as long as is observed in the saltwater crocodile. Therefore, monitor lizards, other crocodiles and Australian ravens prey on young crocodiles.
Population
The freshwater crocodile lives in the northern regions of Australia: in the states
Crocodile from the north of Australia
At the end of the 18th century, a certain man named Johnston informed the famous Australian scientist Gerard Krefft (a native of Germany) about the existence of interesting narrow-snouted crocodiles in the north of Australia. The naturalist managed to compose scientific description this species of reptile, since in those years their population was numerous, and catching several individuals for research was not difficult.
When J. Krefft compiled a scientific description of a new species in 1873, he decided to assign it a binomial name in honor of the same Johnston, but made a spelling mistake when writing the surname, calling the species “johnsoni” instead of “johnstoni”. For many years the reptile was listed in scientific sources under this name, until, while studying the scientist’s manuscripts, the error indicated above was accidentally discovered.
The scientific world decided to leave the binomial name of the crocodile unchanged, but in some sources, however, this reptile is mentioned under the name Crocodylus johnstoni.
Among the popular names of the crocodile, the most commonly used are Australian narrow-snouted crocodile, Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnston's crocodile. Australians often use colloquial speech The name is Freshie, or they simply call him a freshwater crocodile. Why freshwater? Yes, because the range of this reptile intersects with the range of the formidable saltwater crocodile, which is often called saltwater crocodile for the development of sea and ocean salinity waters.
The Australian narrow-snouted (freshwater) crocodile is endemic to the northern regions of Australia, and is found in the states of Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory. It can be found in freshwater swamps, streams and slow-water rivers. This reptile avoids salty and even brackish waters of estuaries and tidal zones.
The narrow-snouted crocodile of Australia does not reach extraordinary sizes - the maximum length of individual individuals is just over three meters (with a weight of up to 100 kg). Record females can grow just over two meters in length and weigh about 40 kg. There is information about the capture of individual individuals up to 4 meters in length, but this has not been confirmed.
Information about the life expectancy of these reptiles differs somewhat in different sources.
The Australia Zoo is home to a narrow-snouted crocodile whose age is estimated at almost 140 years. It is believed that this is the oldest crocodile in the world. Australians lovingly call him "Mr Freshy". Mister Fresh has quite a colorful pedigree and life story. In childhood and youth, this reptile was considered a sacred animal, which was worshiped by the Aboriginal tribe on the Cape York Peninsula (Queensland, Northern Australia). This peninsula is peculiar and unique nature reserve, one of the last remaining undeveloped areas on Earth. Local population here consists mainly of Australian Aborigines.
Then poachers made an attempt on Mister Freshie's life, and he miraculously escaped, losing one eye due to a bullet wound. However, he survived, and since 1970 he has become a pet of the zoo, where he still lives safely.
It is believed that this crocodile was born in 1875. How reliably the age is determined is unknown (there are some doubts among scientists), however, such a longevity of the reptile is impressive.
According to other sources, Australian narrow-snouted (freshwater) crocodiles live in wildlife up to 30 years old.
The appearance of Frechie crocodiles is characterized by a very narrow muzzle, light brown body color and the presence of transverse dark stripes on the body and tail. The belly is lighter colored. Skin bone plates are relatively large and round in shape. The teeth are sharp, awl-shaped, their number in the mouth of a crocodile is 68-72.
Like all narrow-snouted crocodiles, as well as the gharial, the Australian freshwater crocodile feeds primarily on fish. The narrow snout and sharp teeth make it easy to capture fish with lateral movements of the head. However, this predator can also eat other prey - various aquatic animals (amphibians, amphibians), birds, rodents. Even kangaroos were found in the stomachs of these reptiles.
Prefers to hunt from ambush for a long time motionless waiting for prey, hiding the body under water and sticking out only the nostrils and eyes.
During the dry, cool season, these reptiles lose activity and hardly feed.
The Australian narrow-snouted crocodile reproduces by oviposition, and the eggs are laid not in a nest of a structure typical for other crocodiles (from plants and soil), but in burrows that are dug in the sand near the water. At the end of oviposition, the entrance to the hole is covered with sand. Egg laying occurs from July to September, the incubation period is up to three months.
The female does not guard the clutch as zealously as most known representatives of this order of reptiles, however, she shows some care for the offspring - she helps the brood get out of the nest-burrow and for some time protects the young from enemies. Sometimes the male takes on this responsibility, but it happens that newborns begin life path without the help of parents.
For humans, this small crocodile is considered not dangerous, but there are a few known cases of a crocodile biting people with its sharp teeth. Most often this happens when the reptile is “driven into a corner”, cutting off its escape route. Like all predators, in such cases the Australian narrow-snouted crocodile can become aggressive.
Typically, this animal prefers to avoid meeting people, unlike the extremely dangerous saltwater crocodile.
The skin of freshwater crocodiles was the subject of hunting for hunters and poachers until the 70s of the last century, but then a ban was imposed on all kinds of catching of these reptiles. Currently, crocodiles are raised on special farms for the leather goods industry.
Thanks to environmental measures, the population remains stable, but there is a decrease in the average size of individuals, which is caused (according to scientists) by deteriorating living conditions (pollution and environmental disturbance). Conservation status type Crocodylus johnstoni- causing the least concern.
The Australian continent is inhabited different representatives animal world. Large reptiles - crocodiles - also live here. There are 2 species of crocodiles in Australia:
- Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater crocodile in Australia
The saltwater crocodile is the largest today terrestrial predator and the most major representative squad of crocodiles. Individual representatives reach a length of 7 meters. But more common are crocodiles 5 meters long and weighing about 1 ton. Females of this species are much smaller - on average no more than 3.5 meters and weighing up to 150 kg.
In Australia saltwater crocodile lives along the entire northern coast from Onslow to Mackay. This crocodile swims freely in salt water, but is more often found in mangroves, in river deltas, swampy creeks. Nevertheless, the ability to live comfortably in salt water and swim across large sea areas became the reason widespread of this species in the Asian region and islands.
Nature has provided saltwater crocodiles with the ability to remove excess salt from the body and minimize the absorption of salts from sea water in the oral cavity. Everyone knows " crocodile tears“This is exactly the salt secretion from the glands located near the eyes.
The saltwater crocodile is not picky about food - it eats and big fish, and mammals who came to drink. This species easily copes with large animals, powerful jaws and large mass The bodies allow the cow to be dragged under water, and then the crocodile uses the “deadly rotation” method, sudden movements of the head under water and tearing the carcass into pieces.
For humans, the saltwater crocodile represents great danger. It's better not to catch his eye. When walking independently in Australia in the wild, it is important to pay attention to warning signs, and near bodies of water, possible places habitat of these predators, be especially careful and not approach even unsuspicious logs. Hiding crocodiles often look very much like an old rotten log that has been lying in shallow water for a long time.
Saltwater crocodiles good parents- they guard the nest, and when the small crocodiles hatch, they carry them into the water in their mouths, and then take care of them for several more months. However, most crocodiles die before hatching, becoming food for other predators, and no more than 1% of the young survive.
Australian narrow-snouted crocodile, lives exclusively in fresh water. It is smaller than the combed one, adult males narrow-snouted crocodile up to 3 meters in length. This species lives in rivers and freshwater bodies of the northern tip of Australia, but does not cross the range of the saltwater crocodile.
This representative of crocodiles does not pose a danger to humans; it eats fish, but can catch birds, small animals and amphibians. He prefers not to hunt, but to wait until dinner approaches, and then with a sudden movement of his head he grabs the prey.
Females lay eggs in a dug hole near the water. But more than half of the nests die before hatching - they are found by monitor lizards or wild boars. Often during the rainy season, nests are flooded. Crocodiles also easily fall prey to predators because the parents of this species of crocodiles hardly care about their offspring.
While traveling in Australia look at these ancient predators possible in zoos or crocodile farms. And the best thing is to go swimming along the river with crocodiles and see them in natural environment habitat.