Crocodile Spotted in a Drain Terrorized S’poreans, But Here’s the Thing

On 18 November 2016, a crocodile got stuck at Lim Chu Kang after it ventured into the drain of a fish farm there. The full-grown estuarine (saltwater) crocodile, which was named Diley by its rescuers from animal welfare group Acres, was about 3m long and weighed about 70kg.

Full-grown male estuarine crocodiles can grow up to 7m long and weigh 450kg, while females can grow up to 4m and weigh 80kg. 

As told by Mr Kalai Balakrishnan, Animal Concerns Research and Education Society’s group director, this was the first crocodile the Acres caught this year.

It took four people nearly an hour to catch the reptile and release it back into its natural habitat.

It took such a long time as they took a while to plan on how to retrain it without causing any harm to the crocodile as it may die from shock.

After it was caught, it was passed through a gap in the fence and released back to the reserve.

It shouldn’t be a shock to you to come across a crocodile. It’s not the first and neither is it going to be the last encounter of one in Singapore. Why?

Numbers of crocodiles has increased three-fold

According to Mr Ben Lee, founder of conservation group Nature Trekker, he estimated that the number of estuarine crocodiles in Sungei Buloh has increased three-fold over the past 10 years. And this type of crocodile is known to swim in the Straits of Johor and to feed and rest in mangroves, freshwater ponds and lakes.

There has been news about sightings of wild crocodiles

In April 2014, a 400kg estuarine crocodile was found at Kranji Reservoir with a metal rod in its eye and a large fishing hook lodged in its mouth.

In November 2013, a teacher and a group of even-year-old schoolchildren on a field trip spotted a crocodile crossing the main footpath at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

In April 2012, the Ministry of Education suspended all water-based activities at its Jalan Bahtera Adventure Centre in Lim Chu Kang after the owner of a fish farm reported spotting a crocodile in nearby waters.

So, relax. It’s not the first, and it won’t be the last.

Featured Image: Stomp.com.sg

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com