KOTA KINABALU: Sabah wildlife rangers shot dead a "giant" crocodile suspected of preying on cattle in the Felda Sahabat plantation in the Tungku area of Sabah's east coast Lahad Datu.
The 4.42m crocodile was killed after Sabah Wildlife Department rangers were called in by a farmer who reported that a crocodile had attacked one of his cows on Monday (Oct 18), Lahad Datu wildlife officer Silvester Saimin said Thursday (Oct 24).
He said the crocodile was spotted in a creek at the oil palm plantation at Felda Sahabat, Blok 25 Sahabat 9 and a decision was made to kill it to protect the safety of the people and livestock in the area.
"Our rangers fired two shots and the carcass was immediately brought out from the creek and disposed of through burial," he said, adding that they used a tractor to move the carcass.
He said they believed the crocodile was domiciled in the area as it was not a major river but a stream forming part of the tributary.
"It is not a crocodile natural habitat area," he said, adding that the crocodile was one the biggest killed or caught in the district.
