Thais Rush to Move Crocs Amid Rising Flood Waters
Date: 19-Oct-06
Country: THAILAND
Authorities in the central province of Uthai Thani, 220 km (140 miles) north of Bangkok, ordered the evacuation of some 4,000 crocodiles on Sunday, most of them kept in pens alongside a river swollen from monsoon rains.
"I am confident that these crocodiles will not swim away from my farm, but I have to move them to other farms for the sake of public safety," said farm owner Amorn Jittapinitmas, who has raised crocodiles for meat and skin for 35 years.
The reptiles, ranging from palm-sized newborns to 20-year-old breeding parents more than 3 metres (10 feet) in length, are first rendered unconscious with an electric prod.
Workers then tie their snouts, legs and tails and row them in boats to nearby farms.
"The relocation is 100-percent safe because they are tied up with tight ropes. If there is a boat accident, the crocodiles would not hurt people, but they would die," Amorn said.
The 60-strong team has worked around the clock and expected to move the last 200 crocodiles by the weekend, he said.