Villagers rattled by frequent sightings of crocodiles

Community effort: A female crocodile weighing 410kg was successfully captured by Kampung Parit Gantong Laut residents in Batu Pahat after entering an oil palm plantation owned by them, before being handed over to Perhilitan for further action. — Bernama

BATU PAHAT: Kampung Parit Gantong villagers and farmers here are living in fear of crocodiles with three of the reptiles caught over the past week.

Besides their own safety, they said they were also concerned for their livestock.

Goat breeder M. Nazri Sadikin, 50, said one of his goats was eaten up, adding that he found its remains near the banks of Sungai Batu Pahat.

He said although crocodile sightings in Sungai Batu Pahat was quite common back in 2010, villagers were not too concerned then.

“But the sightings have become very frequent over the past three years, with some smallholders not even going out to harvest their oil palm.

“What’s more worrisome is that crocodiles are now entering homes, as it happened the day before yesterday when a baby crocodile was found in the toilet by a villager,” he said, adding that the reptile was caught by firefighters who respon­ded to the emergency, Bernama reported.

Villager Mohd Fitri Azizi Kasbola, 44, said he saw a crocodile believed to weigh about 300kg with a nest of 53 eggs, and called the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) which sent a team.

The first crocodile that entered the villa­ges this week was spotted on Wednesday.

Weighing over 400kg, the reptile was caught by firefighters with the help of ­villagers.