Wildlife Rescue Unit team setting up a crocodile trap at the monsoon drain near the Sabah State Museum.
A crocodile caught at Kampung Ketiau recently.
KOTA KINABALU: The number of crocodile sightings and reports of human-crocodile conflicts are rising in Sabah.
Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director William Baya warned that there has been a drastic increase in the number of crocodile sightings in river systems throughout Sabah.
“We are also seeing more cases of human-crocodile conflicts. Just in a space of five years (2010–2015), more than 50 crocodiles were caught by the department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) from areas where their presence were likely to cause human-crocodile conflicts,” he said.
William added that the crocodiles were translocated to forest reserves and rivers that were far from human inhabitants.
With regard to the human-crocodile conflicts, he said that the department was seeing a rise in the number of people reportedly attacked by the reptile.
He said that a most recent case occurred last week when a male corpse suspected to have been a victim of a crocodile attack, was found at the Kalabakan river.
“We are still investigating the case and I have directed my Tawau district wildlife officer to look into it,” he said.
There has also been a rise in the number of sightings of crocodiles in Kota Kinabalu, said William.
The crocodiles were not only seen in rivers but were also found in large monsoon drains within the city limits and its close suburbs.
“Just a few days ago Sabah Wildlife Department caught a six feet long crocodile in a small swampy patch, just behind Kampung Ketiau, Putatan,” he said.
He added that this was the third reptile caught in the area within a period of two years.
The director also said that they have received tip-offs from the villagers on the presence of crocodiles near their village.
In addition to that, the department also caught a five feet long crocodile at a lake near the Likas Sports Complex last year, and another crocodile in a small drain at the Kepayan Ridge flats.
SWD have also received reports of confirmed sightings of crocodiles at the monsoon drain near the Sabah State Museum and at the drain near Likas Polytechnic.
William said that traps have been set up to catch the reptiles.
Despite the sightings, he urged members of the public not to be alarmed and requested them to report any crocodile sightings to the department so that appropriate action can be taken.
Reports can be made via the department’s hotline at 012 8019289 or email to [email protected].
He also mentioned that SWD was in the process of carrying out a Non-Detrimental Study on Crocodile Population and will soon do a statewide crocodile survey to collect the latest data on crocodile population.