Saltwater Crocodile Removed from Flooded Sand Mining Pit in Riau Islands

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of firefighters from Toapaya sub-district, Bintan district, Riau Islands, Indonesia, removed a 3.5-meter saltwater crocodile from Masiran village in Gunung Kijang sub-district on Monday morning, Juky 22, 2024.

They released the reptile into the Lagoi Bintan Wildlife Park, which has a crocodile sanctuary, Toapaya Fire Agency head Makmur told local journalists.

Residents captured the crocodile at an abandoned, flooded sand mining pit in Masiran village while fishing on Sunday evening. The crocodile had snatched a fish hook.

The villagers tied it up for safety reasons and left it there until the firefighters evacuated it on Monday morning.

Following the removal of the saltwater crocodile, Makmur urged locals to avoid fishing and other activities at the abandoned pit, as two crocodiles still lived there. Crocodiles liked sunbathing there on sunny days.

According to locals, the area was home to five saltwater crocodiles. Three had been caught and moved to the crocodile sanctuary, while two remained.

Crocodile attacks have occurred in different parts of Indonesia. In February 2019, a fisherman lost an arm in a crocodile attack in the Seranggas River, Central Kalimantan.

On April 8, 2020, a saltwater crocodile snatched and ate a six-year-old boy swimming near a beach in Buru district, Maluku. The local marine police then shot the four-meter-long crocodile using an SS1 V5 rifle.

ANTARA

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