Reptile restrained: The crocodile being subdued by Civil Defence Force personnel at Pulau Gaya off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
KOTA KINABALU: A crocodile measuring over 3m long was caught by islanders after it tried to attack a child at Kampung Lok Baru in Pulau Gaya.
The 200kg reptile, which is believed to have been lurking in the waters off the city for months, was trapped by villagers at about 4pm on Wednesday.
Kota Kinabalu Civil Defence Force operations officer Lt Ezra Daniel Gandui said a team of eight personnel from mainland Tanjung Aru headed there after villagers reported the capture of the crocodile.
“The crocodile was tied up by our personnel and transported back to the Tanjung Aru base at about 7pm,” he said yesterday.
Ezra said that the crocodile was spotted by a child who was bathing in the sea.
“The crocodile is said to have tried to attack the child, but the boy managed to go ashore and alert the villagers, who searched for almost an hour before finally trapping it,” he added.
In recent months, similar concerns were raised by locals living in and around the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.In the wake of the crocodile spottings, Sabah Parks assured the people that its personnel were continuously monitoring the waters off islands there.
