MANILA: A boy was killed after being snatched from a boat by a saltwater crocodile in the southern Philippines, as the reptiles’ shrinking habitat leads to repeated attacks, authorities said Wednesday.
The 10-year-old was on board with his two older siblings near the town of Balabac, which is notorious for confrontations with the massive creatures, when he was yanked into the water.
His father failed to find the boy after an overnight search, but a fisherman discovered the child’s half-eaten remains late Monday in a mangrove swamp, a police report said.
The Philippines’ booming development and population have steadily invaded the creatures’ habitat, forcing them into ever-smaller stretches of swamp.
Humans and crocodiles sharing the same space has resulted in multiple run-ins, in which people have been killed or mangled by the animals.
“Since 2015, we’ve never had a year with zero (crocodile) attacks” in Balabac, said Jovic Pabello, spokesman for a government council that works to conserve the environment of the Palawan island group that includes Balabac.
“It’s a conflict on water use,” he added.
Also called the estuarine crocodile, the saltwater is one of the world’s largest reptiles, growing to up to six meters (20 feet) long and weighing up to a ton.
In February a crocodile grabbed a 12-year-old boy as he swam at a Balabac river, but he escaped when his siblings hit the reptile’s head with oars until it let him go, Pabello said.
A Balabac crab fisherman was killed and half-eaten by a saltwater crocodile in February last year, police said, three months after his 12-year-old niece was dragged away by a crocodile in late 2017.
The girl was never seen again.
The Palawan island group, often called the Philippines’ “last frontier” is home to a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna, but is threatened by unchecked development.
Crocodile eats 10-year-old boy alive in the southern Philippines
Crocodile eats 10-year-old boy alive in the southern Philippines
- In February a crocodile grabbed a 12-year-old boy as he swam at a Balabac river, but he escaped when his siblings hit the reptile’s head with oars until it let him go, Pabello said
Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway
OMAHA, Nebraska: The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.
Here’s a collection of some of Buffett’s most famous quotes from over the years:
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“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.
He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
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“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.
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“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that’s especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.
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“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”
