Jakarta Globe, Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, May 22, 2013
An Estuarine Crocodile opens its jaws wide at the National Zoological Gardens at Dehiwala outside the city limits of Colombo, Sri Lanka. (EPA Photo) |
Balikpapan.
Authorities in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, are investigating whether a large
crocodile that spooked visitors at the popular Manggar Beach over the weekend
was a wild animal or had escaped from a nearby breeding center.
Arif, the
head of the municipal management body for the beach, confirmed on Monday that
the three-meter-long saltwater crocodile was spotted in the area on Saturday
morning, sending hundreds of beachgoers scattering.
“The
crocodile even went up and sunbathed next to the lifeguard post. Most of the
visitors were scared, but some of them hung around to look,” he said.
The animal
disappeared into a nearby estuary soon after, and efforts by Ari’s office and
local wildlife conservation officials to track it down were fruitless.
Arif added
that officials from the local search and rescue agency, working with local
fishermen, were still scouring the coast for any signs of the animal so that
they could determine where it came from before capturing and releasing it away
from areas of human activity.
He added
that it is highly likely that the crocodile came from the nearby Teritip
crocodile breeding center. However, Bayu, an official at the breeding center,
denied the possibility.
“None of
our crocodiles have gone loose. They’re all securely in their cages,” he said,
adding that there were around 1,500 crocodiles at the facility.
He
suggested that the one that appeared at the beach was a wild crocodile that had
strayed far downstream because of damage to its habitat in the upstream forest
area.
Crocodile
sighting are increasingly becoming common in East Kalimantan, with conservation
officials attributing this to the loss of the animals’ natural habitat.
In April, a
16-year-old girl was killed by a crocodile in the Perdau Dalam River in West
Kutai district. This was the fifth incident in the area in the past two years.
Erli
Sukrismanto, the head of the Kutai National Park, said at the time that forest
clearing within the park was compelling animals to travel further downstream.
“Crocodiles
are considered quite adaptable to high levels of water pollution, so if they’re
forced to seek cleaner waters, that paints a very worrying picture,” he said.
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