7 News Belize

Traps Set for Killer Croc
posted (April 8, 2014)
Last night the headline news was that a crocodile had killed an unidentified man on a private property in the Ladyville/Lord's Bank area. Well, the victim was identified late last night as 47-year-old father of five Carl Michael Diaz. Diaz is from Benque Viejo, but his family lives nearby and he was fishing when the killer croc caught him.

Tonight while the family mourns for this most unexpected, incomprehensible death, authorities are trying to catch the killer croc. Monica Bodden has the full story:..

Monica Bodden reporting
A routine fishing trip to the back of Green Estate for 47 year old Carl Diaz turned into a tragedy when a crocodile attacked and killed him yesterday.

He was spotted by another fisherman who was in the area at the time and heard a loud cry.

That man told police that he saw Diaz being dragged down this channel of murky waters by what he described as a large crocodile.

The man began making noise that scared the crocodile enough to make him let go of his prey and retreat to his underwater hide-out.

Phillip Diaz - Brother of Deceased
"We are definitely sure that a croc killed him. We sure that he had probably finish finishing already and probably went to rinse off in the water after finish cleaning the fishes and that was when probably the crocodile was already waiting on him to get in the water I would suggest. You could see his entire head was muddy - the croc had to be dragging him because all over his head was muddy. It seems that it was quite a long ways that he was drag according to the police from where the nets and stuff were - all the way inside the little creek."

Diaz was pulled from the water. His right foot was almost severed with what appeared to be a huge irregular wound on his right leg and three bite marks on his left.

On the water bank were 9 fish in this small sack - which suggest to his family that after fishing he may have jumped into the water for a rinse off.

Phillip Diaz - Brother of Deceased
"I never look at the injury at his foot. The police man told me that his foot was held by a piece of skin, but yes he had injuries to his face; his mouth had a big cut, I guess because the crocodile spin him around and then he had a blood clot up in his chest area."

Monica Bodden
"This is his livelihood, this is something that he does, he is always behind that area fishing?"

Phillip Diaz - Brother of Deceased
"Not only that area, I guess any part of Ladyville that have water where fishes are Carl is there trying to get the fishes out and I guess that was one of his main spots because he to always catch some big fish there."

Monica Bodden
"Have he ever told you guys about any encounters with crocodiles?"

Phillip Diaz - Brother of Deceased
"He used to always tell us when he sees big crocodiles. Up at Larry Flowers I would stop and tell him that some big crocs are there and he would say that they didn't bother with him, he says that he does his thing and they do their own thing."

This isn't the first time that fishermen and some of the residents of Green Estate have come in contact with crocodiles. In fact, they are spotted all too often.

As we trailed through the area, they were signs of skeletal remains from animals believed to have been attacked by the reptiles.

Bert Ramos - Vice Chairman, Lords Bank
"What brings me out here today after the 7pm news last night I started to get some many calls, even people visiting my house saying what will we do, you are the man and I say man for what and they say that an alligator ate a man right here in our back yard, so we need to do something about it. I sleep on it last night and the first thing I did this morning was to call the police in Ladyville and inform them that we need to do something about this croc that kill this man, so the police then told me that I need to call Audubon Society, so I call Audubon Society and they told me that it wasn't them it was Forestry Department in Belmopan. I got Forestry Department number and I call them in Belmopan and so they told me by 10am they would have someone out here. They came about 10:50am, so Mr. Vince came and we discuss and i showed him what I learn about out here and so he decide tonight that he is going to set some traps and try to capture this alligator. But my main concern is that it's a residential area and something like this happen we need to step on like now."

Vince Rose - ACES
"The prints I just saw which may or may not be the same croc, it's probably a 9-10 foot croc right off the bat just at looking at the footprints."

Crocodile expert and owner of American Crocodile Education Sanctuary in Belize, Vince Rose was called out to the area to do his own investigation.

Vince Rose - ACES
"Right now I am investigating an allege attack and I am still gathering the clues and evidence and see what this is all about. i have a real good idea what it's all about and not to anger everybody, I know a life was taken and that's a very serious issue but you've got to go back to what caused this and its called lack of law enforcement from illegal feedings and from fishermen cleaning their scraps at the water's edge attracting crocs to them. It when you feed crocodiles it's when they become dangerous, otherwise they run from us. I'll give you a quick little story; the first time you see a mouse in your house he runs from you, but if you spend a week putting breadcrumbs, at the end of that week you could get that mouse to come to your hand. All you've done is change that mouse's behavior - that's all you've done by doing that. Now when you do that with an apex predator such as a crocodile or a bear or a great white shark - they lost their fear of humans and now they see you as a food source or seek you out as food."

According to Rose, it is scientifically proven that almost every crocodile attack is related back to a feeding - whether direct or indirect.

Vince Rose - ACES
"That's why it is so imperative that people follow the law by not feeding any wildlife. That's where it stems from. It's scientifically proven; almost every attack is related back to a feeding whether it was indirect or direct feeding. Although this was tragic, remember what caused it - the people here caused it by feeding or by not following the law. You are not supposed to be cleaning your fish scraps in the waterways. They are supposed to be taken out to sea or throw in a garbage dump or they can even bring it to us ACES and I would buy fish scraps off them to feed the crocodiles that are in containment - that's a win-win situation for everybody. That's what I am sure we are looking at."

And while traps will be put in place to capture the animal, its fate lies in the hands of the Belize Police Department.

Vince Rose - ACES
"This one's fate is up to the Forest Department, it's not up to me or it's not up to anyone else. They will decide what they want done with it. The first thing I got to do is capture it and see if it's a large croc that is capable of taking a human life. If there just becomes a mass killing if crocodiles in this area your eco-system can collapse, you can have a fish die off - all kinds of things can happen. Crocodiles are needed in the environment to keep nature in balance; the keep the fish in balance. Now again that's normal Mother Nature. Once we feed the crocodiles it says the heck with fish, I am going to go with man for food - that's why it's so against the law to go near a croc, feed a croc, harass a croc, all the above and it also against the law to feed any of the wildlife in Belize."

Diaz lived in Benque Viejo, but stayed in Ladyville during the week to make a living from fishing in nearby ponds. He leaves behind his wife and 5 children.

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