The kids should have been smarter than to try to catapult at a crocodile. Th security should have been tighter too.

Sora Chen, Raleigh, USA

I think it's very sad that it's caused the death of a young boy, but it really was his and his friends own doing, and I definitely agree that they should've been taught to respect animals.

Sora Chen, Raleigh, USA

its the kids fault
thats it
they should've known what could happen but the park is also responsable for it to.

Aaron C., madison, indiana

I say the zoo should have had better people working if a nine year old can sneek in also i say the zoo should get shout down

lashonda, winnipeg, canada

Con Con - how about the orphanages where children are treated like animals??

I think it's very sad that it's caused the death of a young boy, but it really was his and his friends own doing, and I definitely agree that they should've been taught to respect animals.

Anna, Derby, UK

i think its really crazy wat happend and i'm kinda disappointed cos it cud av very being avoided

nife, LAGOS, NIGERIA

Malcolm from New York, could you please tell us more about these Human Animal rights please? I'm intrigued.

Con Con, London,

I love all the "boys will be boys" comments! Please people. Teach your boys to think and be compassionate and decent. They grow into men, for God's sake. No wonder the world is in such a sorry state!

sm, austin, usa

A tragic accident, that should never have been allowed to happen. Hopefully lessons will be learnt all ways and no more innocent lives (human or animal) will be lost.

Incidentally, my two year old son already knows how to apporach animals and treat them. He has lapses, but is advised how to behave!

Kay Millson, York, UK

this news led to such a statement "evolution is a farce"...im impressed.
might be true though...humans don't look much evolved after all.

Let's look at the child's behaviour externally. is there any species of animal that would harm and bully another different species of animal in Nature just for fun?
cant think of any example. but HUMANS.

and people, just cut it out being so horrified for this death. children that die of starvation everyday, that's horrifying.
nobody is wishin bad things to anyone here.

alice, italy,

Some of you people are genuinely frightening. Cristina Speluzzi would "like to know if the other boys were reprehended in any way". I would have thought that witnessing your friend being eaten alive by crocodiles would be punishment enough for anyone.

Laura, Wellington, NZ

The Chinese have a long way to go as far as animal rights are concerned, whether human or otherwise.

malcolm, New York ,

I spoke with some chinese colleagues yesterday and they were obviously concerned with the treatment the animals have had to endure. They know of the cruelty and they're not happy with it. It's the Zoo owners who must take a large share of the blame.

Justin, Wuhan, China

Pete in Bristol your link is extremely tenuous at best, the two things are completely different. Animals in case you are unaware do not discriminate for that very fact, they are animals and will eat any mammal placed in front of them. (You deliberately seem misunderstand Hannah previous point). Sad and unfortunate thought the death clearly is we cannot expect animals to act in any other way than evolution has necessitated, and maybe it is people that need to learn to respect creatures that have inhabited the earth immeasurably longer than humans.

Matthew Armstrong, Belfast,

Lisa from NZ - I love your comment that 'apportioning blame seems futile'....... and then concluding that the zoo's security and enclosure were inadequate.

Seems like you are laying blame at the zoo's door!!

Mike, London, UK

I find it somewhat sad that this article has the most recent comments whilst other more pressing concerns seem to generate less interest.

'Boy pokes crocodile, gets eaten' is hardly one of the most earth shattering headlines of our time. Poor boy, poor parents, poor crocs. Should be enough.

Ironically, I have now contributed more words to this meaningless debate. Best get back to work!

Richard, Sydney, Australia

I'm pretty horrified by the tone of a lot of these comments too. Apportioning blame seems futile - it isn't a court case. Yes, the child was surprisingly foolish but that hardly justifies his death, which is obviously a tragedy. The crocodile clearly reacted like a crocodile would. You can't expect reasoning from a large predatory reptile. The boy's parents must be suffering terribly now; it seems grossly unfair for a number of reasons to 'blame' them. It does sound like the zoo's security and enclosure were inadequate though.

Lisa, Auckland, New Zealand

Sadly in Mainland China the attitude towards animals is that they exist for the entertainment of and for use by man, irrespective of the suffering they may endure as a result. Hence bears crammed into tiny cages so that they cannot move with valves inserted into their bile ducts which becaome septic and cause constant pain, all so that their bile can be extracted for use in Chinese medicine, to give but one example. You see hideous examples of the mistreatment of animals all over China.
This child would have been a "little emperor", ie an only child of parents who would themselves have been only children as a result of China's one child policy, and therefore had four grandparents and two parents doting on him constantly. He was probably allowed to do anything he wanted and never told "no" by anyone.
Put these two factors together with the pretty casual attitude to public safety that you also get in mainland China and this is what happens.

Oonagh, Hong Kong,

Many children behave recklessly / foolishly, some pay for that behavior. This boy was perhaps no more foolish than somebody climbing high rock or too high tree or driving car too fast, or driving bicycles on wrong road. I bet about 100-1000 such bicyclists are killed by cars in USA and in China every year. Nobody is interested in such stories.
This case just was unusual so it was published.
He didn't 'deserve' to die, but it was his fault (and some bad luck - his friends are still alive). Perhaps better fence could help but it is difficult to protect against 'brave' children.

Misha, Cayce, USA

I'm surprised things like this don't happen in china more often. I have been to some zoo's in china and the living conditions and the way some Chinese people treat the animals is rather scary.

In the zoos in china there are many signs (in chinese and english) saying 'don't feed the animals' and 'don't harrass the animals' (or something similar) but still some chinese people, both old and young, throw packets of crisps at the animals and bang loudly on the cages to make the animals move (they claim this is for entertainment when asked).

Of course a 9 year old boy may not understand the perils involved but if they are learning from their elders and the elders are harrassing animals then it is therefore obvious that tragedy is going to occur.

Perhaps as China becomes more and more developed their nation will change their behaviour towards animals and become more educated about animal welfare. As the whole world should know, it is a slow process

laura, shanghai, china

Mark of Beijing. Taiwan may officially be China's 23rd Province, but ask the people of Taiwan. I don't understand why you raised this issue. I feel for the boy's family.

Al, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

I'll bet I know why the animals were still being bred even thought their performances had been stopped. I saw something like it in Guangzho: right behind the zoo there is a wildlife restaurant where you can eat the crocs, snakes and turtles, plus whatever else may take your fancy. Scorpions, bugs, anything.

I grew up in Africa, and I can tell you that most 9 years olds there would have considerably more sense than this one did around a croc. Obviously education would have saved him, but still, there should be some of our animal instict left in us to tell us that beating a croc with a stick is the purest form of looking for trouble.

Dave, Hong Kong,

I agree with Kim.

Mike Pierce, Houston, Texas, USA

Mat in Tampa, did God include kangeroos and koala bears in that pact with the animals, because I was wondering how Noah got those particular species on board being as he did not know that Australia existed, of have I missed something?...just asking

keith manton, houston, usa

Where were the parents???????

Vicci, Canada,

U.S. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair must be held responsible for failing to institute credible animal welfare laws in China

Collins, Beijing, China

When you bother a wild animal, it reacts like a wild animal.

Kim Righetti, Upland, Calif. USA

Is it likely that the croc was "pissed off" with being harrassed? Or just that it saw an easy meal? A handful of kids up to mischief in the croc enclosure... If in any zoo a bunch of 9yr olds can enter an enclosure of a potentially dangerous animal, then questions have to be asked. Ultimately this is childhood misadventure, surely you don't believe the child would knowingly endanger himself? Peer pressure maybe? Poor parents, but they're also blameless, again I'm sure they didn't expect this. Croc was not killed for punishment by the way, but to confirm the remaining boys' story! Not that i'm an atheist, but what's with all the scripture quoting?! What's the relevance, or have I missed something?

Julian, Bromley, UK

One thing that most of you are forgetting is that this is a regular occurrence in China (Taiwan being part of China). Recently, a kid has been mauled by a panda and another kid was mauled by a Siberian Tiger whilst having a photo with it.

There are a surprising number of otherwise intelligent Chinese people who think that wild animals are cute and cuddly and should be allowed near children. It's freaky!

I'm not saying that these kids 'deserve' what they get. What I am saying is 'What do you expect?' Remember - to a croc of a tiger, you are a piece of meat. Plain and simple. The sooner people learn that small, yet interesting fact, the fewer of these incidents will take place!

MarkChina, Beijing,

This is one side of Steve Irwin's Legacy that we don't hear about often.
No doubt these youngsters were recording this act on their mobile phones...

john, Slough,

Boys will be boys, and crocs will be crocs!

john swankie, Dubai, UAE

So sad for the boy, his family and his friends who witnessed this. But boys will be boys and play where they shouldn’t and do things they know are wrong. It’s all part of exploring and growing up, although normally with less tragic outcomes.

Andy, Reading, Berks

I am an expat living and working in The Gambia, you all ask where the parents are ..... well childhood in third world countries is nothing like what it is in Europe. Children are not children for long, parents have to work very hard to put food on the table, and I see children as young as 5 or 6 walking long distances to school on their own.

I am not condoning what the boy did, but adults are not always present, and children are left to their own devices. Don't compare less developed countries with your own countries.

Claire, Serrekunda, Gambia

Gandi said that you can judge a nation's civilisation by the way it treats its animals.

On that score, China and most nations of Africa are right down there with the bottom-feeders.

While I have great sympathy for the little boy and his family, stupidity often begins at home and so long as parents fail to inculcate sensible and humane behaviour in their children, children will continue to be victims of previously placid family dogs, let alone intrinsically wild animals penned up in enclosures and tormented.

Rod Baker, Cape Town, South Africa

- And for the people believing in biblical genesis instead of evolution, wow.. just wow. That in itself is scarier than kids being eaten by crocodiles, that's for sure.

Alexander, Stockholm, Sweden

Yes I'm sorry for the young boy., but how many of us had near misses when we were his age playing on railway lines, climbing trees, swimming in dangerous rivers, lighting camp fires, etc.
It's called LEARNING.
My hope is that all children and parents learn from his death.
How many children will be taunting crocodiles this weekend?

G J BUNTON, SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE

has anyone actually bothered to consider how the child felt being eaten alive? are any of these comments 9 years old? can you remember whether you were mature at 9? somehow i doubt you were as this kid was not, it is a horrid tragedy - you cannot blame the croc as it is not a rational creature, it sees food it eats it, similarly you cannot blame a nine year old and assume they have the common sense of an adult - you guys talk about mommy and daddy saying never run into the road or look both ways yada yada - DID A CHILD EVER TELL YOU THAT, WAS IT A NINE YEAR OLD WHO WAS ADVISING U??? somehow i think not, if you did not apply common sense without being told as a kid why assume this kid will do you think his parents specifically should have said to him do not climb into the area where the crocs live as they will eat you alive? HOW CAN ANYONE BLAME PEOPLE? it is a tragic tragic story and no blame can be afforded, he did not deserve to die. You heartless people you should feel ashamed.

victoria princewill, London, England

Truth is stranger than fictions, though Roald Dahl could have made this up...

Bob, Brussels,

Animals have always been given the death penalty for defending themselves from human cruelty.

Tina Rhea, Greenbelt, Maryland US

Although it is tragic that a child is dead, his and his friends behaviour was unacceptable.
People may do questionable things during their childhoods but at 9 years old I definately knew that beating any animal with a stick was wrong!
Of course there are clearly security issues as concerns the zoo-there is no way the boys should have been able to get in the enclosure in the first place. On top of this is the question of where on earth the children's parents were? No 9 year old child should be allowed out on their own and it is highly irresponsible of their parents to have allowed them to do so.
I hate to say that the boy 'deserved' to die, I do not believe he did, however, to taunt and abuse the animals the way he did, it should have been clear to him that there would be consequences.
That child may not have deserved to die, but neither did the completely innocent animal who was clearly just defending itself by eating him.

Hannah, Bournemouth,

What were the parents doing???

Ben, York,

After reading the article and all of the comments, I am surprised that the parents have not been identified as one of the major contributors to the child and crocodile’s death. The parents, or those responsible for the children at the time, share the majority of the blame in this case.

Sure the zoo is also partly to blame, but unless things like this happen and people take notice, no one is going to learn from their mistakes. Hopefully this will bring more light to the situation in China's zoos and proper steps will be taken to protect the animals and spectators.

Jeff, Ottawa, Canada

when i read the story of the little chinese lad i was reminded of the Stanley Hollway monologue about Albert and the Lion.

i visited Yellowstone National Park a few years ago and there are buffalo wandering around the park and there are also very large signs indicating that these animals are a) wild and b) not very predictable. therefore do not go near them or try to "pet" them. sure enough there is a large man trying to get his photo taken standing beside this large bull that was peacefully grazing and he pats it and stands infront of it. the animal did not move quickly but it moved and rattled him a good 6 feet forward on his face. much to the amusment of the onlookers and when he reported this to one of the rangers HE was told to pack up an go.

Ron Oliver, Edinburgh, Scotland

Crikey!

Jhye, Idaho, USA

Jason:

"But don't mind me--I'm just an unenlightened American, right?"

To do irony right you need to have a false statement there, not an obviously true statement of fact.

Charles, Charlottesville,

Kids will always be kids. Those of you spouting the bible and ranting on about kids getting what they deserve have either short memories or you all had lousy childhoods. I did some shocking things when I was a kid as did my friends (including filling jam jars with bees or wasps and throwing them at walls! does that mean I should have been stung to death for it! Maybe I was lucky not to be but hey, thems the breaks!)

No child deserves this end and no parent deserves to suffer the loss of a child.
The croc was shot to confirm the kids claims (Shock of shocks children do sometimes tell fibs!) not by way of punishment.

Spud B, Northumberland, UK

Regrettable for both the croc(s) & the boy. Maybe the Chinese can be blamed for poor animal welfare, education & zoo security, but Steve, CommonSense & Richard make fair points. Perhaps boys will be boys wherever they are but Franca, would you be so understanding if the 'innocent child' had been tormenting your pet cat or dog with his catapult? Things may be different in China but surely the croc's reaction to such taunting is the type of zero-tolerance approach to asbo behaviour & minor crimes we could do with getting closer to in the UK?

Frango, Coventry, UK

Does God care for animals?
Proverbs 12:10 teaches, "A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast," while the Psalmist maintains that "The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all he has made" (Psalms 145:9).
The Bible describes God's concern for animals repeatedly (Matthew 10:29, 12:11-12, 18:12-14) and forbids cruelty (Deuteronomy 22:10, 25:4). Importantly, five times after the flood God makes a covenant with animals as well as with humans. All creatures share in the Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). The Bible describes animals praising God (Psalms 148:7-10, 150:6), shows animals present in eternity (Isaiah 65:25, Revelation 5:13) and affirms that God preserves animals (Psalms 36:6, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20). Animals and humans look to God for sustenance (Psalms 104:27-31, 147:9, Matthew 6:26, Luke 12:6) and deliverance (Jonah 3:7-9, Romans 8:18-23).

Matt, Tampa, FL

yes--typical of todays' generation. totally disobedient and not happy unless they are doing something wrong or prohibited. but my question is----why did the parents/guardian of the child not know what he was doing. i feel really sorry for them and my heartfelt condolences go out to them-----but. i've seen this type of behaviour in Zoos even with the parents standing next to their children whilst it happens. maybe they wouldn't think it funny if the roles were reversed and the animals did the taunting. clearly this is what has happened with dire consequences.

joe lister snr, glenrothes, scotland

Both the child and the crocodile were innocent - both were just victims in a country in which animal life and the environment are abused and taken for granted, tragically resulting in what has happened

Mike Alizade, London,

the collective noun for a group of crocodiles is a "float" and not a "swarm."

david, london, uk

Are you ALL crazy? This is just a boy we are speaking of! He was just being stupid, reckless and cruel like many other 9 year old boys around the world sometimes are. Are you sure that, given the chance, you or your children wouldn't have done the same? Our children don't get eaten by crocodiles simply because there aren't any around! If death were the penalty for children's mischief half of us wouldn't probably be here!

Dario, El Puerto, Spain

The boy was not innocent and intrigued, he was pestering the crocs with catapults and sticks - how is that innocent? Children need to be educated more on the dangers of all animals. Any animal will attack if provoked enough. I wouldn't have allowed my children any where near them.

Tania, Exeter, Devon, England

I am horrified by many of the comments here who seem to gloat that a child has been killed and seem to expect a nine year old child to have enough sense to understand the danger that he was in. I used to be a teacher and can tell everyone here that the brightest children do not have the understanding, at 9 years old, to really grasp what might happen to them. I just can't get over how many people here have no compassion for the child's family - would you like it to be your child who was killed? I did very silly things when I was nine, and many much sillier things right through my teens but I grew up to be an intelligent and functioning human being. I think the Times should close this comment section down out of human decency for the family of the poor child. As for the fool who says that children shouldn't need to be told not to run out onto roads - I bet YOU WERE TOLD BY YOUR PARENTS NOT TO GO INTO THE ROAD but just don't remember it.

Mark, Cardiff, Wales

Hey, take your frustration out on the system not on a 9 year old kid who didn't know, wasnt told any better

DK, Delhi, India

Yes, the 'baby eaten by bear after parents put honey on it's face' story is a famous old urban legend:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/bearmaul.htm

Tom Whitwell, London, England

Why does everyone have to try and blame someone/something? It happened, it's unusual and so it was published. An animal doesn't make moral decisions, the child did, but I doubt he meant for it to go that far. There are many factors that people would expect to have been in place so this wouldn't have happened but I really don't think people realise how the people who knew the child (and, to be fair, the children who witnessed it, as it's not exactly pleasant for them either) must feel, it doesn't matter how your child died, it's not nice.

Yes, the article raised a point of animal cruelty and there is an element of lack of respect for the animals which may be how the situation arose but discussing animal welfare with only this story is pointless as it is one isolated incident, bringing emotions into it changes the equation and doesn't help this particular discussion.

VH, Liverpool, England

I feel very sorry for the boy's parents, and also very sorry for the poor crocs, who were just being crocs. I don't care whether the parents should have brought up the boy better or not, it's truly horribly to lose your child.

starling, Lancaster,

Regrettable thoough the boy's death is, I tend to feel nmore empathy for the crocodile. In captivity, probably underfed, being tormented and probably hurt as well the croc reacted as any finely tuned killing maching would do.
I just hope the remaining crocs are not killed in a senseless and valueless reprisal.

C Brandon, welwyn, England

Bite your tongue all commenters expressing words such as 'the boy is stupid'. I wonder if you'd say the same had it been your child. The boy was an intrigued, innocent child.

Franca, Sydney, Australia

China does not teach its public especially schoolchildren to treat animal humanely. This consiouness doesn't exsist in China. If you look around in China, there are pitiful sight of animal being abused and slaugthered especially dogs.

One wise man once said, "to see the soul of a nation, first see how these people (nation) treat their animal'.

This will tell you a lot about China.

Andre, akorn, usa

My oh my, here come the "liberal" comments...God made everything on the earth, and everything should be treated as such. That we are made in his image should magnify the idea that we should treat everything on earth as HE treated them, with respect and give them all a proper chance at life. These children were given a proper chance, but these crocodiles, penned up and out of their natural element were not. A crocodile will do as a crocodile does, just as a disrespectful child will do as it does. There is nothing "liberal" or "conservative" about it.

J, Vta, CA

It does not make sense to blame the owners in this case.

The owners of these dangerous animals placed them in a pen, surrounded with a fence. The dangerous animals never left the enclosure.

If someone is stupid enough to trespass, commit a crime (breaking and entering), and practice cruelty against animals then why does the blame not fall on that person?

CommonSense, London, UK

I completely agree with Pete from Lucerne. The crocodiles only defended themselves from the bullying kids, the only way they knew. I'd like to know if the other boys were reprehended in any way.

Cristina Speluzzi, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What a shocking article! I'm also horrified at the callous comments and total lack of empathy shown to this poor boy and his family. He suffered a horrific death - nobody deserves that, especially a chid.

Karen Evans, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Any scientific proof you have to offer will be gratefully received Jason...

Tom, York, UK

"broke in"???? I SERIOUSLY doubt it.
I've been to the zoos in China. They are a complete disgrace. The pens for the animals are like pits, with only handrails around the outside. It would be nothing for someone to jump down into the pits and jump back out. In America, right after the railings there's a 20 foot drop into a moat-like thing, then a huge uprising to where the animals are kept. People would be stupid to try to get over to the animals. Not so in China. You've got a 5 foot drop, to where all of the animals are.
Stuff like this happens all the time. Right before I went to the Beijing Zoo, a bunch of kids had jumped down into the bear pit and poured acid all over the bears. They had huge scars and patches of hair missing. But the bears were still out for display in their completely concrete pit.
I'm not even a tree-hugging nature lover, but the stuff that they do to their animals is completely inhumane.

Allison, Dayton, Ohio

Hit a person and they hit you back. Hit an animal and they eat you. Sorry for the eaten boy, but hope others learn from this.

Andy, Los Angeles, USA

it is also common for zoogoers in china to spit on the animals. i witnessed this in china.

a magnificent tiger lay resting in it's tiny enclosure while a restive chinaman spat through the bars on the tiger to rouse it into action. very, very sad

until you have been to a chinese zoo or a even animal market in china you can't imagine how bad things are...

max, brentford, uk

Are you telling me bears can really ride bicycles?!!

Michael Steinbach, Ypsilanti, MI

That was very irresponsible of the owners of the park.Common,children will always be children.I remember as a child my brother and i used to go and taunt our neigbours and will run for our dear lives as it furiously chased after us.It was dangerous but exciting.

When you have animals that are capable of eating humans,all security measures must be taken,in case of a misadventure like this one.I hope everyone learns from this.

Adekunle Thani, London, Unitedkingdom

Hilaire Belloc's "Cautionary Tales" need to be translated into Mandarin.

Cynosarges, London, UK

"Evolution is a farce"

Evidently....

steve s, Toronto, Canada

A shocking story. I'm also horrified about the callous attitude and lack of empathy shown to this poor boy and his family. He suffered a terrible death - nobody deserves that, especially a child.

Karen , Liverpool, United Kingdom

Another example of it's not anyones fault except the cruel animal. Unreal. Humans are the most vicous animlas of all. It's really ashame for the kid but please, we're talking about a croc.

Tim, Warminster, Indiana

Jason from Indiana - Crocodiles have been around for millions of years, they are literally dinosaurs and are the pinnacle of evolution of their species. I dare say they will be here long after we're gone. Whether humans are of more value than any other animal is a moot point - we're all equals in a croc's jaws, aren't we?

Thom, Auckland, NZ

Remember the kid was still a human being. So, although he and friends did wrong. Don't wish misfortune on another person. Ignorance and lack of education, on all parties concerned, is to blame.

Marty, Skegnes, Lincs

Boys will be boys...this is a very tragic event. I pray the family members find peace through God.

Jay, Madison, NJ

China needs to get with it. I know there animal welfare is horrible. Animals are skinned ALIVE for their fur and sold in the U.S. as fur jackets, and fur trim on coats and gloves. Don't ever buy fur because of this. This boys death is a shame.

James Fontaine, Portland, ME

It's not fair to an animal locked in captivity to be killed for defending itself using its natural instincts. The children climbed into its cage and harassed a large predator. I am not saying that the boy deserved it, but he should have known better. At that age, I can not see why that fear of predators was not instilled in him.

Keiko, New York, NY

Cruelty to animals can not be tolerated. There is always a price to pay. Unfortunately, this little boy lost his life for his foolish and thoughtless actions. His friends escaped, and hopefully they will not treat animals of any species in this manner.

To the zoo's credit they cancelled the 'boxing' matches, etc . Perhaps the children saw how little care there are for animals.

Joan, Danbury, USA

The honey on boy's face for a photo op sounds like an urban legend. Did you check it out? Please post a reliable confirmation that this actually happened.

George, Chicago, USA

Its no more the crocs fault,than the young boys.It was the zoos fault for sloppy security at the park.Wild animals are dangerous and should be treated as such.

gaaack2003, auburn,

"All it highlights is that children really can't think through the consequences of their actions."

Rather, it also highlights that stupid parents don't teach their children that wild animals are dangerous.

Brian, Concord, NC

They killed the crocodile to establish if the boy had been eaten or not, not to "punish" it...sheesh, people, read the article.

And anyone who thinks a 9 year old deserved to be ripped apart alive has problems.

AK, UK,

It is a sad statement of parenting, why these children and this child, because he was a child, only 9 years old, was not taught respect for animals and humans at this age. Abuse of animals leads to abuse of people. Such frustration and anger in a child comes from many factors, but they all stem from the home. Respect nature and it will respect you, respect humans and they will respect you. Sad way to learn a lesson... one that this child will never implement. Culture or lack of it, begins in the home. Can't blame the animals or the children.

evie, Charlotte, USA

Where were the parents or whoever was in charge of chaperoning these children? That is where the blame lies in my opinion.

Kim, Detroit , MI

I'm with Rohan. I find all of your comments to be appalling. Humans are created in God's image and are of far more value than anything the animal world has to offer. Evolution is a farce. You've been duped if you believe in it. To think what this kid's parents are going through! Oh, of course none of you pointy headed liberals were foolish kids before! It's by God's grace that I didn't get eaten by an animal as a child. But don't mind me--I'm just an unenlightened American, right?

Jason, highland, indiana, USA

Its the natural reaction for a crocodile to do such a thing. The security around the pen was not adequate and has resulted in this tragedy. Hopefully they will learn from this and ensure that there is no risk of this happening again.

John, Bath, England

From what I learnt from the Taiwan news channel. They actually shot dead all crocodiles in the pool to retrieve all parts of the boy from the crocodiles' stomachs.

Edwin, Singapore,

It is not rocket science. It is merely considering the idea that things bigger than you can hurt you. This should not have to be taught - it SHOULD be instict.

This same logic applies to kids who run out in front of cars - I did not need to be told as a child that running out on roads was bad - I knew who would come off worse in an argument and it would not be the car.

But then now we get told we are great and not responsible for any of our own mistakes so...go figure

Steve, Leamington, UK

When animals are taunted by humans and attack humans , it's the animal that gets put down.

Bluto, Manchester, England

When people are cruel or stupid, it's always the non-human animal who gets blamed. I never forgot the post by a US park ranger who saw a mother smearing honey over her toddler's face. Thinking this was a strange thing to do, he queried her and was told that she wanted a picture of a bear licking the honey off her kid's face. Without the park ranger's intervention, this would probably have resulted in the death of both toddler and bear.

Gerry, Crediton, england devon

The fault of this unfortunate incident lies entirely with the keepers of these crocodiles. We cannot blame animals for following their basic instincts to protect themselves, or in this case, rid themselves of a nuisance. If people wish for accidents like this to become less frequent, action must be taken to secure an area that people cannot break into and that will keep these animals safe. This little boy lost his life because of the carelessness of the crocodile's keeper.

Allison, San Angelo, USA

i don't think that crocodiles are to be blamed, it sounds utterly fooolish to say so. The mistake is of course of the park keeper; firstly, you keep the animal bonded in the name of saving the "extinction" and secondly, you force the animal to stay in a small man-made river and don't feed them properly. And above all, you leave the park so open that is accessible to small buys of their age without any escort. After all the above mentioned situations, you expect the animal to dance and entertain the people.
However, i do express my deep grief to the family of victim. To all the education people out there in China, do something that will improve the present situation before another crocodile claims another life. Let's live and let the crocodile live!

sashi, delhi, India

Frankly, child was underarmed. He should have at least taken a crossbow or pike.

Julian Fencer, Woking, UK

Why should the poor animal have to loose it´s life because of a group of mischievious boys who deliberately taunted it, while trespassing it´s own private habitat.

Maribel Nogueiras, valencia, sapin

If anyone thinks that crocodiles are harmless they must be mad. It only takes a glimpse of one to understand that they are not particularly innocent.

I believe that this incident goes to show the stupid way children can behave when they are together. If the child had been on his own I doubt he would have done such a thing. For this exact reason we should not allow gangs of children roaming the streets -- especially the 9-year olds that are out at 10:00pm where I live, who aren't particularly innocent themselves.

Chris, Suffolk, UK

The keeper hired to take care of the crocodiles was probably asleep. The picture shows the crocodile which was killed being removed at night. Everybody has to sleep, even crocodile keepers. Or maybe the keeper was having a day off. Everybody needs a day off, even crocodile keepers.

I wonder how many kids would think that standing next to a crocodile and beating it with a stick is a really, really dumb thing to do. I think most kids would have enough sense to realize the stupidity of doing this.

Ura Tastiwon, Beihai, Guangxi, China

It is a tragedy that shock me every minute hairs.Apparently, the department should set the saferguard to protect people where they played and visited,if they had any,it never happened.

Sanno, ChangSha, China

The fact that snipers lured a crocodile out of the water with pork clearly shows what a voracious appetite crocodiles have and also highlights what we have known for years; that after you have eaten a chinese you are hungry soon after.

john, geneva,

They clearly missed the sign saying "DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!"

PaulRay, Singapore, Singapore

Human's are disgusting.

I can't believe an animal would grace us with the dignity of eating us.

Spit that grossness out croc.

I don't want to be top of the food chain anymore.

tbone, Richmond,

despite the clear negligence on the part of the croc keeper, I think that those other boys learned a valuable lesson. don't sneak into a pit with dangerous animals and taunt them with sticks. Didn't Heinrich Hoffman write a story about this once?

Matteo, Chicago, IL

I say good for the Croc's. They were minding there own business, the children were where they sould not have been. The writers assertiion that " “One of the irritated crocodiles'" would have you beleve that there was some malice or retribution by the croc.
Nonesense. The corc was operating entirely on instinct and is blameless.
Blameless and now not hungry.

Scott, Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA

very astute, natalia

mike, va beach, usa

The croc is, in my opinion, an awesome animal. It's a shame we're not as well designed.

I dispair of humanity, I really do. "let's shoot them to see if they ate somebody" is not a trate to be proud of.

Paul, MK, UK

I suppose the crocodiles are to blame for this.

Roy, Dubai, UAE

Hello, I´m Natalia from Argentina. In my opinion I think that kind of animals could be in spaces taht people can´t touch them because could happen something like that.Bye

natalia, Esperanza, Argentina

Too many people view animals, esp dangerous ones like crocs as if they were a Disney character. There's lots of blame to go around. Parents, zookeepers and a general lack of knowledge as to what can happen. Once again the lesson has to be retaught that nature is often deadly. I'm sure that's small comfort to the unfortunate boy's family.

Greg Smith, Renton, WA, USA

Elizabeth Burrell - you're right, children have to grow and learn - and the other kids will have learned that it's not a good idea to taunt man eating crocodiles.

Homer, London, UK

As far as I'm concerned the boy deserved it. You don't go around taunting dangerous animals and expect them not to bite back. I'm more upset and concerned that they killed one of the crocodiles. And the way that the Chinese treat animals...what would Steve Irwin say.

Joe, Hereford, UK

Perhaps this 9 year old wasn't so "precious." I am a father of a 9 year old & can honestly say that my child would NOT enter a dangerous animal's cage & taunt it repeatedly.

I'm with Herman, from TX, look to the parents for why this happened.

Dave, Houston, TX, USA

I spent two years living in China and observed that the Chinese do not always look at animals in the same way as the West. The zoos I visited were terrible, the animals were sickly and ill treated. Dogs and cats are often eaten as food. Children were not taught to treat animals with kindness and often teased them. It is a cultural thing. It was not that long ago when the Chinese were near starvation and food was where you could find it. That may account for some of the differences.

Dot, Baton Rouge, LA

They didn't need to kill the crocodile. They could have just x-rayed it or given it an MRI.
As sad as it is, the kid physically went into the pen and attacked it. It's not like the crocodile wanted to live in a Chinese zoo did it? If you play with fire you get burnt... If you climb into a crocodile pen and hit it with a stick you.. well, I think we all know what happens!

Kane, London,

If parents would stop trying to be friends first with their children, and start being parents first this might not of happened, but then again boys will be boys. And you cannot protect them 24-7 the rest of your life. Common sence has to eventually come into play. Once 9 years old, I knew what a crocodile enclosure was for at the zoo, one good reason... to keep me from being eaten! Hope his friends learned something.

Dave, Sacramento, California

This is a tragedy that will haunt the family forever. What kind of people are you that you will make jokes and poke fun when a precious 9 year old has lost his life?

Children make mistakes and they need guidance. That's why they are not born little adults. They have to grow and learn. Where were the adults when all this happened? Why were these kids allowed to taunt the crocs?

My heart is broken for the child and his family. Hopefully everyone will learn from this and it will NEVER be repeated.

Elizabeth Burrell, Columbus, NC, USA

Not a very good idea was it really....shouldnt of been taunting the animals in the first place, thats what happens especially with man eaters!

Alex, Brisbane, QLD

The bouy shouldn'tof been in the pen,they were old enough to know better. Now because of what they did they willkill them all.

Nancy, Stafford, Stafford / Virginia