Were There Crocodiles In

Fiji?

Letter to the Editor AS a result of the interesting letter in July “PIM” by Mr. R. C. Macpherson, on the subject of crocodile re cords in Fiji, a paragraph was inserted in the local press on October 11, asking for any known instances of crocodiles in Fiji. No replies were forthcoming and a similar request, kindly put over the air by the Public Relations Officer, did not bring any replies.

For what they are worth, the writer gives the following oral records which he elicited: Ba and Naduri (Vanua Levu) both about 80 years a£o, and Sigatoka; as well as Rotuma and Butaritari (Gil bert Islands) outside of Fiji.

The reptile concerned is the estaurine crocodile, which ranges from India and Australia to the Solomons, where the writer has seen it swimming off the coast of Guadalcanal. It is far more likely that the early records of Mariner was concerned with a crocodile from the Solomons, than from the East Indies, as Seemann suggested in 1862.

In conclusion, one cannot resist refer ence to the description given in the offi cial “Dominions Office and Colonial Office List” where the crocodile of Papua is de scribed as an amphibian, the compiler presumably believing that its shape in dicated it to be a giant newt, or sala mander.

I am, etc.,

R. A. Lever.

Suva, 17/12/45.

The Military Medal has been awarded 'to Cpl. Biri, a Papuan, who attacked 12 Japanese and captured an enemy machine-gun post.