Crocodile captured after sight of it sparked terror in Phuket village
Villagers breathe a sigh of relief after the "giant" beast is caught as experts wonder how the reptile ended up in a freshwater pond
The saltwater crocodile that sent locals into a panic attack in Phuket’s Thalang district was successfully captured on Monday morning.
The 2.44-metre-long reptile was removed from the village pond by a team from the Phuket Fisheries Office and representatives from several agencies along with Nikhom Suksawat, an expert from the Panya Farm Crocodile Capture Training Centre.
The crocodile, found to be female, is believed to be about seven years old and weighs about 70 kilos.
The team had been hunting for the reptile since July 31, when locals claimed they had spotted it in a large pond in Ban Para village in Talang’s Pa Klok sub-district.
Panya Samphaorat, mayor of Pa Klok Municipality, said it remains a mystery where the crocodile came from, as the area has not previously seen saltwater crocodiles.
Prayut Ratanawan, Phuket’s chief fisheries officer, said the crocodile will be kept at the Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre for a while for its owner to come forward. If nobody claims ownership, then the reptile will be seized by the Fisheries Department.
Though there have been no reports of crocodiles attacking or killing humans in Thailand in recent history, Thais have always been terrified of the reptiles and have demanded they be eliminated if spotted in natural water resources.
A fisheries expert recently released a YouTube video saying this fear of crocodiles may have resulted in the infestation of blackchin tilapia in local waterways.
The expert, who chose to remain anonymous, explained that blackchin tilapia pose no problems in Africa because they serve as feed for saltwater crocodiles. However, in Thailand, he said, the fear of crocodiles has resulted in their elimination from natural habitats, so there are no predators to control the influx of alien fish like the blackchin tilapia.
