Gotcha: APM personnel and firemen capturing the 3m-long crocodile in a drain at the Likas Bay Public Park in Kota Kinabalu.
KOTA KINABALU: Another 3m-long crocodile has been captured in the Sabah capital here, this time in a public park not far from the city.
This was the second reptile trapped in the span of two days, with the first roped in by islanders at Kampung Lok Baru on Pulau Gaya, about a 15-minute boat ride from the city centre.
The second crocodile was found in a drain at the Likas Bay Public Park off Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens here around midnight on Friday.
Passers-by noticed the animal in the ditch and promptly alerted the authorities.
Kota Kinabalu Civil Defence Force (APM) officer Kapt Aizex Junior Simon said a team was dispatched to the location following a call at 12.10am yesterday.
“Upon arrival, our team got to work straight away with the Fire and Rescue Department to capture the crocodile.
“After approximately half an hour, we successfully retrieved the 3m-long, 180kg reptile before transporting it to the APM office,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Aizex said the operation ended at 1.09am and it went smoothly with no untoward incident.
He added that the Sabah Wildlife Department had been informed of the crocodile’s capture.
On Wednesday, islanders caught a 200kg crocodile after it tried to attack a child on Pulau Gaya.
The reptile, believed to have been lurking in the waters off the city for months, was trapped by villagers at about 4pm.
Videos of crocodile sightings in the sea at Likas Bay had circulated previously.
In one of the videos, which made the rounds in January, a crocodile could be seen floating near the Menara Kinabalu building, which houses the Chief Minister’s office and various other government departments.
