Lucky day for jogger as Bulatan Park crocodile spotted briefly

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MIRI: A four-foot crocodile made it a date to resurface at the man-made lake at Bulatan Park here on the eleventh day of the month of 2011 (11.11.11).

For a freelance photographer, William Ting it was indeed a lucky day for him when he spotted the crocodile
surfacing at the Bulatan Lake at 8.32am.

“My wife, Teresa, and I are regular joggers at the park but we only spotted the crocodile yesterday.

“It was indeed a lucky day for me to be able to spot and then capture the croc with my camera for the first time yesterday. It surfaced only about two minutes and then submerged immediately upon seeing me,” said William to The Borneo Post yesterday.

He however was concerned about the safety of the people including workers of the Miri City Council (MCC) who have to maintain the park, including the lake.

Meanwhile, MCC deputy mayor Mohd Che Kadir when contacted said they are working closely with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) Miri in an effort to catch the crocodile, besides taking other safety measures.

“Our council has no expertise in dealing with or catching crocodiles and thus we have to work with SFC. Draining the lake will be a very costly measure,’ he said.

SFC Miri meanwhile told The Borneo Post that efforts have been taken to catch the crocodile after it was spotted lately in the lake, but so far they have not been successful.

“We have tried and probably because it is still very small, our men had not been able to catch the crocodile.

“However we are still monitoring the situation – making observation three times a week to identify the spots where the crocodile frequently surfaces and the time,” he said.

SFC has also put up a sign at the park about three weeks ago to warn the public of the existence of the crocodile in the lake. Most probably they will put more signs up if the needs arise.

SFC also reminded the public to be extra careful when visiting the park and not to go too near to the lake.

“The crocodile at the Bulatan Lake is an estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus) or locally known as buaya katak and it could attack humans,” the SFC spokesperson added said.

MCC workers spotted the crocodile at the lake in September. Bulatan Park, some 5km from the city centre is one of the popular parks especially for joggers.