STI News: 4 crocodiles in six weeks stumps experts

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4 crocodiles in six weeks stumps experts

 

 

 

FOUR crocodiles have been caught around the island in the last six weeks and

this sudden appearance of the reptiles has baffled the Agri-Food and Veterinary

Authority (AVA), the zoo and a crocodile farmer.

 

The senior assistant curator at the zoo's zoology department, Mr Francis Lim,

said there are three possible reasons: They had been kept illegally as pets and

escaped; they swam ashore from a neighbouring country; or their natural habitat

here, mangrove swamps, was destroyed.

 

Mr Lim, 48, said: 'They'll hang out where there's water, like reservoirs,

canals and near the sea.'

 

Mr Robin Lee of Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm added: 'There's really no reason

why they're appearing now and no exact way of telling where they come from,

although the ones caught here are able to float across the ocean for long

distances.'

 

The 28-year-old manages the largest of three crocodile farms here, where about

8,500 reptiles are bred for their leather and meat.

 

Ms Lye Fong Keng, head of AVA's Wildlife Regulatory Branch, said Singapore does

have its own wild crocodiles, sometimes spotted - and caught - in rivers,

reservoirs and mangroves.

 

But she added that these native crocodiles are rare.

 

It is also hard to determine if the creatures that have been captured came from

the wild, or were kept illegally as pets and then released or abandoned.

 

When asked about the origin of the 2m-long crocodile caught last Saturday in

Woodlands Town Garden, Mr Lim said it could have come from the Johor Straits.

 

He said the reptile would most likely have travelled to the swampy area in the

park via a canal that was connected to Sungei Mandai Kechil, leading out to sea.

 

The reptile was captured by three men and handed over to the Jurong Crocodile

and Reptile Paradise.

 

Just a month earlier, a small crocodile was caught behind a block of flats in

Choa Chu Kang.

 

It was the third baby reptile caught last month, with the first two nabbed less

than a week before by the police.

 

One was caught around the Standard Chartered Bank Building near the Singapore

River, while the other was captured in a Jalan Teck Whye canal.

 

All three are now at the zoo.

 

However, the experts said there is no cause for alarm and that people should

call the police if they see a crocodile and think it poses a danger.

 

Ms Lye also said that no one should attempt to capture crocodiles unless he has

the expertise.

 

'The expert catchers are from the crocodile farms and from the zoo,' she said.

 

Added Mr Lee: 'Don't try to be a hero. A 2m-long crocodile can easily snap off

your hand.'

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