Kampala — A team of experts from the US and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is to conduct a census of crocodiles in Kidepo and Murchison Falls national parks, according to Aggrey Rwetsiba, a researcher with UWA.

Rwetsiba recently said UWA has a proposal to count crocodiles countrywide, but will initially concentrate on the two protected areas since the census for crocodiles is expensive. "In the wet season you tend to see them, but not in the dry season," he said. He said the experts will take one and half months and three months in Kidepo and Murchison Falls respectively. Rwetsiba said the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has also provided funding to investigate whether the crocodiles there are related to the Nile Crocodiles.

"The population in Kidepo looks smaller than that of Murchison Falls," he said. He said the census will also establish the impact of egg collection on the crocodiles in Murchison Falls. However, the census around the northern shores of Lake Victoria where crocodile attacks on settlements of fishermen in Bugiri, Mayuge and Wairaka in Jinja have become endemic will be conducted later. James Omoding, UWA's head of community conservation, said interventions were being proposed to improve the way fishermen relate with the crocodiles. UWA plans to license two companies - On Tour, which is a Ugandan company and a Kenya-based company, Nile Crocodiles - to work with the local communities to set up two crocodile farms. "The firms will sensitise locals living in crocodile infested areas and also relocate the problem crocodiles to their farms," said Omoding.

Omoding said the companies are profit driven, but will also sensitise communities and pay money to the communities. "This will act as an incentive so that the communities do not destroy the eggs of the crocodiles or the baby crocodiles," he said.

He said a specialised team for capturing crocodiles has been set up by UWA and that they have so far relocated about 10 crocodiles from different parts of the country to Buwama crocodile farm in Mpigi, Uganda Wildlife Education Centre and Murchison Falls National Park.