THERE are many things commonly seen on (and in) Sarawak's rivers: longboats, fishing nets, the occasional timber raft and, as one licensed hunting team discovered over the weekend, crocodiles that are longer than most cars on a Malaysian highway.
A photograph of the catch spread rapidly on social media, leaving many viewers struggling to believe what they were seeing.
Was a crocodile nearly six metres long really caught in a Sarawak river?
Verdict:
TRUE
A licensed crocodile hunting team known as Team Eric Cat captured a 5.7-metre crocodile from the Baram River in Marudi on Sunday (Aug 2) morning.
Team member Goh said the eight-member team had set up baits at 20 locations along the river on Saturday (Aug 1).
"When we went to check the baits on Sunday morning, we found that a crocodile had taken one of them near the Marudi bridge.
"We were shocked by the crocodile's size as we have never seen such a huge one before," said Goh when contacted on Monday (Aug 3).
To put 5.7 metres in perspective, that is roughly the length of a full-sized pickup truck. It is longer than two grown men lying end to end. It is, by any reasonable measure, the kind of animal you hope is not in the river when you decide to go for a swim.
The operation to secure the crocodile was not a casual affair. The team said the reptile's sheer size required all their experience, courage, cooperation and careful control.
"It was carried out according to standard operating procedures to ensure the safety of the community and river users," the group said in a Facebook post.
This is the 10th crocodile the team has captured from the Baram River since June alone. Ten crocodiles in roughly two months from a single river is a striking number, and the fact that the latest one measured nearly six metres gives some indication of just how large the animals sharing Sarawak's waterways with local communities can grow.
The team said it conducted the operation following concerns from local residents about crocodile sightings along the river.
Crocodile encounters are not uncommon in Sarawak, where the saltwater crocodile population has been growing steadily and human-crocodile conflict has become an increasing concern for riverside communities.
The group urged the public to remain alert and to avoid river activities in areas considered high risk.
