Saltwater Crocodile - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

As well as being hunted for its meat and eggs, the Saltwater crocodile has the most commercially valuable skin of any crocodilian, and unregulated hunting during the 20th century caused a dramatic decline in the species throughout its range, with the population in northern Australia reduced by around 95% by 1971. Illegal hunting still persists in some areas, with protection in some countries ineffective, and trade often difficult to monitor and control over such a vast range. Despite this, the species has since made a dramatic recovery in recent decades. Due to its resurgence, the species is considered to of Least Concern for extinction.

Habitat loss continues to be a major problem. In northern Australia, much of the nesting habitat of the Saltwater crocodile has been destroyed by the trampling of feral water buffaloes, although buffalo eradication programs have now reduced this problem considerably. However, even where large areas of suitable habitat remain, subtle habitat alterations can be a problem, such as in the Andaman Islands, where freshwater areas, used for nesting, are being increasingly converted for human agriculture. After the commercial value of crocodile skins waned, perhaps the greatest immediate challenge to implementing conservation efforts has been the occasional danger that the species can be to humans and the resulting negative view of the crocodile.