stakerk

The following is a link to the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa....ap/index.html

An American doctor based in Botswana dragged from his dugout on the Limpopo River.

Yikes!

cooncat

That is just bloody awful.

Chris_GA_Atl

I saw this yesterday and was both dismayed and shocked. I have never heard of a crocodile attacking someone in a canoe, and to have it happen to someone who was volunteering to help the local community makes it all the more tragic.
Chris

Gardyloo

He was a well known and widely respected doc here in Seattle.

cybor

Tragic.
Poor man and family.

atravelynn

I saw that in my local paper. It is a tragedy in every sense.

sundowner

Does this make anyone think "there but for the Grace of God go I"?

I know many tourists travel in the dugouts (as well as locals). When we were on a boat trip in the Delta we passed numerous crocs and then stopped the boat at a sandbar and several in our group went swimming.

Very, very sad story.

atravelynn

To respond to Sundowner, I am still up for the canoeing but I'll pass on the swim from the sandbar.

cooncat2

Lynn - I may opt for the motorboat to Old Mondoro. We'll see... I'm not one for taking unneccesary chances. I sure feel for that man and his family. How tragic.

JustinaL

My thoughts are that "If it's your time to go, it's your time to go."

I'd also bet that your chances of being killed in a car accident close to your home in the States is greater than that of being taken from a dugout on the Limpopo River.

stamiya

How terrible! Do these kind of crocs inhabit the lower zambezi or rivers near Luangwa River Lodge? Just a little nervous....

mkhonzo

I have to say that the largest crocs that I have ever seen line the banks of the Limpopo.

I don't think that you need worry about the luangwa, not too much canoeing going on there.

Roccco

Sharon,

You will NOT be doing any canoeing in the Luangwa (unless you have a death wish, as you will see it is a very low and narrow river and completely dominated by hippos and crocs). Not even during the wettest times of the year in South Luangwa is canoeing offered as an activity by the lodges, to the best of my knowledge.

However, in the Zambezi, you will find some stretches that are as wide as 1 mile across, allowing for relatively safe canoeing. Also, it will be possible for you to just sit in the back in the canoe while the guide does all the work. It is mostly when going through narrow channels that it becomes a bit unnerving, so that is something to ask the camp before doing any canoeing (will you be on the main river or going through narrow channels?). However, it is in these narrow channels that you will be rewarded with ample wildlife (waterbucks, buffalo, an amazing variety of birds, etc.).

The Lower Zambezi is my favorite park when it comes to activities, as there is something for everyone...morning and night game drives, walking safaris, river safaris, tiger fishing and canoeing. If you choose not to go canoeing, there will still be plenty to keep you busy!

Peterman

Hi
This is tragic, but anyone from this board who has visited Australia soon learns the fear of crocs. There they say to always take your dog camping...if he's a good dog, he'll bark if a croc approaches your tent. If not, he was not much of a dog. Well, that's Ozzie humor for you.
There was a case of a female in a boat arund Darwin or kakadu who was dragged and rolled by a croc (but not killed) a few years ago. There were also (foolish) swimmers up in the same area who were killed.
In Australia, you don;t even walk near water where crocs might be present. Having seen the crocs up near Kasane, I can't ecen imagine the huge size of the one that took this poor man.
Very sad and yet, he did find a new life for himself, and apparently had recently remarried following the death of his wife, so perhaps this was fate if you believe in that sort of thing.
Peterman