Research on the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in Ndumo Game Reserve

This paper provides historical background on human interactions with Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Ndumo region from the 1890s, through to the period of formal conservation in Ndumo Game Reserve from c. 1951. It explains how serious population declines in the 1950s–60s led the Natal Parks, Fish and Game Preservation Board (NPB) to prioritize crocodile research and conservation in this reserve. The work of Tony (A.C.) Pooley from 1962 to 1974 is discussed, a foundational period for crocodile research and conservation in South Africa, in which Ndumo became renowned for crocodile natural history research and conservation at its Experimental Crocodile Restocking Station. Research (on wild and captive crocodiles), and conservation management, were intertwined throughout this period. Pooley's outreach work and discoveries relating to maternal care of crocodiles shifted public narratives to more favourable representations of crocodiles. Acknowledging the challenges of historical shifts in methodologies of population estimates, and the patchiness of observation efforts, the paper utilizes available data to offer a history of crocodile populations from c. 1962 to 2023. Post-NPB management and research is included, from 1988 to the present, including periods under KwaZulu Bureau of Natural Resources and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife management. This paper concludes with a brief reflection on the management challenges of the current situation, including habitat destruction within the game reserve, a five-fold population decline since 1993, human–crocodile interactions, and seasonal movements of crocodiles between South Africa and Mozambique.