Biggest crocodile captured in Penampang river

KOTA KINABALU: A crocodile which has been feeding on dogs belonging to Kampung Ramayah residents in Penampang for several months will have to give up its canine diet.

Yesterday morning, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) caught the 3.2 metre long male reptile nicknamed ‘Olog-Olog’ by the residents, in the nearby Togop River.

The crocodile – reputedly the biggest caught by the SWD thus far – was found in a trap set up by the SWD on Saturday.

A Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) caught the reptile, following a public report on Saturday afternoon that the crocodile was spotted in the river, said Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga.

“I directed our WRU to set up a crocodile trap. This is by far, the biggest crocodile we have caught,” he said in a statement here.

SWD Assistant Director Dr Sen Nathan said villagers had reported the crocodile was spotted over several months but became concerned when the reptile grew in size, posing a danger to them.

“Villagers reported to us the crocodile was even eating some of their dogs. That’s when they decided to report it to the SWD,” he said.

He noted there was a spike in the number of reports on crocodile sightings in river systems, as well as cases of human-crocodile conflicts throughout Sabah, in most of the rivers and other waterways.

“Just in a span of six years (2010-2016), more than 75 crocodiles were caught by WRUs from areas that were causing conflict with their human inhabitants, and were translocated to forest reserves and rivers, far from human inhabitants.

“The probable reason for the increase in crocodile population could be due to the fact that for the past 30 years, we have been protecting this species from being hunted as no hunting permits were given out,” said Nathan.

Meanwhile, WRU Assistant Manager Diana Ramirez said ‘Olog-Olog’ would be temporarily kept at SWD’s Wildlife Holding and Rescue Centre until it was released to an isolated river far from villages or human settlements.