Saltwater Crocodile Bismarck Memorial Service in Queensland, Australia

Summary: The Bismarck saltwater crocodile memorial service in northern Australia March 16, 2019, applauded the 80- to 100-year life of a Meunga Creek celebrity.

Dec. 11, 2018, photo of Bismarck at Cardwell Jetty by Cardwell Beachfront Motel owner Janet Arnold; Cardwell, Cassowary Coast Region, Far North Queensland, northeastern Australia: Townsville Bulletin @townsvillebulletin, via Facebook Dec. 12, 2018

Residents of Cardwell, coastal town of 1,300 inhabitants in Far North Queensland, Australia, acknowledged the gentle eight- to 10-decade lifespan of photogenic Meunga Creek celebrity and saltwater crocodile Bismarck March 16, 2019.

Rumors of a brutal shooting brought Ryan Moody, 51-year-old local fisherman and operator of online fishing courses, to the Meunga Creek crime scene Feb. 24, 2019. The saltwater crocodile Bismarck, calculated as dead since Feb. 18-19, covered a fallen tree despite chunks of leg and stomach skin collapsed from dehydrating sun exposure. Queensland Police Service members and wildlife officers detailed on-site evidence after informants described the crime scene March 1, 2019, to Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

Moody explains "the importance some animal share in the system" by emphasizing the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, who "kept everybody else in check. He kept the peace."

Thea Ormonde, 49-year-old tourism officer, figures that "He was just like the old guy in the community. You know he's there. He doesn't cause any trouble."

Ormonde gauges that "Someone barbarically came in and shot him. I can't believe there would have been a reason. He was just living his crocodile life." The 15-foot- (4.57-meter-) long saltwater crocodile Bismarck hatched, after January through February breeding months and 70- to 80-day incubations, as one of 40 to 70 eggs. Only sexually mature females in saltwater crocodile populations, identified by Johann Schneider (Jan. 18, 1750-Jan. 12, 1822), incubate, from nearby wallows seasonal clutches within vegetation mounds.

Saltwater crocodile females, such as the mother of the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, journey immediately to juggle chirping hatchlings out of muddy mounds and into maternal mouths.

Chirping, hatched, 11.81-inch (30-centimeter-) long saltwater crocodile crocklets, such as the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, know their first swim, out of their mothers' mouths, in nearby waters.

Young saltwater crocodiles live off crabs, fish and insects until physical and sexual maturity launches adult diets of crabs, fish, insects, monkeys, turtles and wild pigs. Their 70-year life cycles manifest chirping sounds for saltwater crocodile hatchlings, barking sounds for saltwater crocodile juveniles and barking, growling, hissing sounds for saltwater crocodile adults. Saltwater crocodiles, named scientifically Crocodylus porosus (from Greek κροκόδειλος, krokódeilos, "lizard" and Latin porōsus, "porous"), navigate maximum 600.24-mile- (966-kilometer-) wide areas before nestling into habitat niches.

Physically and sexually mature saltwater crocodiles, such as the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, observe 13.12- to 20.01-plus-foot- (4- to 6.1-meter-) long bodies with maximum 2,204.62-pound (1,000- kilometer) weights.

Physically and sexually mature saltwater crocodile females present 9.84- to 11.48-foot- (3- to 3.5-meter-) long bodies within 1- to 10-square-mile (2.59- to 25.89-square-kilometer) home range areas.

Physically and sexually mature saltwater crocodiles, such as the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, queue up maximum 100-square-mile (258.99-square-kilometer) patrols in brackish, freshwater and mangrove rivers and swamps. Saltwater crocodile adults, such as the saltwater crocodile Bismarck, reveal black, black-brown, yellow backs; black-spotted white or yellow flanks and undersides; and strong, webbed hind feet. They stand out as sustaining the animal kingdom's largest jaws and as sole crocodilian with bead-like, small, not enlarged, scales on the backs of their necks.

The saltwater crocodile Bismarck turns up among 2019's troubling trauma against a research mountain lion in California, a three-month-old cougar in Colorado and Karma in Texas.

Cardwell local Thea Ormonde organized Bismarck's memorial service; photo of Bismarck by ryanmoodyfishing.com: ABC Sydney @abcinsydney, via Facebook March 9, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Dec. 11, 2018, photo of Bismarck at Cardwell Jetty by Cardwell Beachfront Motel owner Janet Arnold; Cardwell, Cassowary Coast Region, Far North Queensland, northeastern Australia: Townsville Bulletin @townsvillebulletin, via Facebook Dec. 12, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/townsvillebulletin/posts/10156994324176180

Cardwell local Thea Ormonde organized Bismarck's memorial service; photo of Bismarck by ryanmoodyfishing.com: ABC Sydney @abcinsydney, via Facebook March 9, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/abcinsydney/photos/have-you-ever-mourned-the-loss-of-a-wild-animal-you-came-to-know-as-a-pet-have-a/10157318219614015/

For further information:

ABC Sydney @abcinsydney. 9 March 2019. "Have you ever mourned the loss of a wild animal you came to know as a pet? Have a read of this story! . . . . Have you mourned a Bismarck?" Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/abcinsydney/photos/have-you-ever-mourned-the-loss-of-a-wild-animal-you-came-to-know-as-a-pet-have-a/10157318219614015/

AFP (Agence France-Presse). 16 March 2019. "Australian Town Holds Funeral for Crocodile." Free Malaysia Today > Leisure.
Available @ https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2019/03/16/australian-town-holds-funeral-for-crocodile/

Chiu, Allyson. 7 March 2019. "Bismarck, a Town's Beloved Crocodile with a 'Gentle Soul,' Was Found Dead. Residents Say He Was Shot." The Washington Post > Morning Mix.
Available @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/07/beloved-small-town-crocodile-with-gentle-soul-was-found-dead-residents-say-he-was-shot/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8cc4bf772032

Hennes, Rebecca. 21 February 2019. "'Monsters Are Real': $2500 Reward for Information on Suspect That Shot Dog Left to Die in Dumpster." mrt > News.
Available @ https://www.mrt.com/neighborhood/cyfair/news/article/Monsters-are-real-2500-reward-for-information-13633585.php

"Mountain Lion Killed in California Wine Country Sparks Anger." USNews > News Feb. 12, 2019.
Available @ https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2019-02-12/mountain-lion-killing-in-california-wine-county-sparks-anger

Place, Tom. 4 March 2019. "He Was Never a Threat to Humans': Beloved 80-Year-Old Saltwater Crocodile Named Bismarck Is Shot Dead by a 'Bogan' and Left Floating in a River." Daily Mail > News.
Available @ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6771295/Community-grief-revealed-loved-80-year-old-crocodile-Bismarck-killed.html

Rosie The Shark @rosietheshark. 6 March 2019. "A Far North Queensland community is mourning the loss of a large saltwater crocodile believed to have been deliberately shot. . . ." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/rosietheshark/posts/a-far-north-queensland-community-is-mourning-the-loss-of-a-large-saltwater-croco/257755075133781/

Sexton-McGrath, Kristy. 6 March 2019. "Public Memorial Planned as Town Mourns for Iconic Croc Shot in the Head." Australian Broadcasting Corporation News > ABC Far North.
Available @ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-07/community-mourns-dead-crocodile-bismark/10875514

Townsville Bulletin @townsvillebulletin. 12 December 2018. "A large crocodile affectionately known as Bismarck, Gary or Fluffy depending on where you live in the North has been spotted. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/townsvillebulletin/posts/10156994324176180

Whitaker III, Romulus Earl. "Saltwater Crocodile Crocodylus porosus." In: Michael Hutchins, James B. Murphy and Neil Schlager, editors. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Volume 7, Reptiles: 186-187. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2003.

Woodward, Aylin. 1 March 2019. "It Turns Out That Colorado Jogger Strangled a 24-Pound Baby Mountain Lion That May Have Been Orphaned and Starving." Insider > News.
Available @ https://www.thisisinsider.com/colorado-jogger-may-killed-baby-mountain-lion-2019-2