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Hong Kong bags elusive crocodile |
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| HONG KONG: June 11, 2004 | ||
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HONG KONG - Hong Kong conservation workers have finally bagged an elusive crocodile after it evaded and embarrassed some of the world's top croc hunters for months.
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The reptile, thought to have been brought in illegally as a pet and later released in a river in the city's rural New Territories area, swam into a trap after a seven-month hunt involving everything from chicken heads to bamboo poles. "Yes, we've got it," a spokesman for the Agriculture and Fisheries Department said yesterday. The 1.5-metre (5-ft) animal, named "Croc Croc Chan" after the family that first spotted it in October, became a media star in a city better known for its gleaming skyscrapers and nightlife than its wildlife. Its fame soared when it managed to give hunters from Australia and mainland China the slip, and it attracted hundreds of tourists a day after newspapers splashed its picture on their front pages. Experts said Croc Croc Chan, a salt-water crocodile, could grow to a length of eight metres (26 ft). Its species has the worst record for attacks on people. The reptile will be kept in an animal shelter for a few weeks and will be moved eventually to a wetland park, an official at the Agriculture and Fisheries Department told a news conference.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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