14 ft. crocodile captured by man in Indonesia, returned to nature

Robert Besser
01 Jul 2022, 11:33 GMT+10

Using just a rope, an Indonesian man, supported by fellow villagers on the island of Sulawesi, captured a wandering 14 foot crocodile
The crocodile's capture was lauded by others in the village of Ambau Indah
An official at the local Natural Resources Conservation Agency said the crocodile will be released back into the wild

SULAWESI, Indonesia: Using just a rope, an Indonesian man, supported by fellow villagers on the island of Sulawesi, captured a wandering 14 foot crocodile.

In a video, the crocodile can be seen being secured around the jaws by the 53-year-old villager named Usman, who said the crocodile had been roaming the area for at least two days and had frightened local residents.

"If we had left it, it would have come on to land and we wouldn't have been able to go into the rice fields," he told Reuters.

"There are also drainage channels around the roads here, places where locals fish. It would have been dangerous if it had crawled up the drainage channels. I had to take a chance," he said.

The crocodile's capture was lauded by others in the village of Ambau Indah.

Fellow villager Umar Siddiq Al Farizi said, "What Usman has done is appreciated by the community. Some even consider it a heroic act, because it saved many people who could have become victims," as reported by Reuters.

In the past, there had been several crocodile attacks in the area, he added, stressing that he also welcomed Usman's decision to report the capture to authorities.

"He (Usman) considered this a rare animal whose habitat had been damaged by floods. He thought it should be protected and not killed," Umar said.

An official at the local Natural Resources Conservation Agency said the crocodile will be released back into the wild.