Croc causes shock

KLANG: A video of a crocodile swimming underneath the royal town's iconic Kota Bridge has created a stir on social media.
The one-minute 12-second video showed the adult crocodile believed to be an estuarine crocodile or "buaya tembaga" (crocodylus porosus) drew gasps from onlookers as it surfaced long enough to capture attention.
Selangor Fire and Rescue department assistant director of operations Mohd Sani Harul said a team has been dispatched to survey the area where the sighting occurred.
"We are keeping watch and are carrying out surveillance at areas where sightings are reported.
"If the animal is caught, we will hand it to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) for further action," he told theSun when contacted today.
Meanwhile, a source from Perhilitan said should the reptile be caught by either its department or the Fire and Rescue Department personnel, it would be quarantined for at least a month before being eventually released back into the wild.
"If the crocodile is an adult, the department will release the animal at the Paya Indah Wetlands in Kuala Langat as it is a gazetted sanctuary for crocodiles.
"However if the crocodile is a juvenile, we would release it back at an area resembling its habitat and further from human beings where it can live safely," the source added.
Sightings of these elusive reptiles at various parts of the Klang river and its tributaries, which stretches up to Kuala Lumpur have been reported several times in the past.
In October, last year, the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department had caught a 1.5m juvenile crocodile after it was spotted by villagers in Kampung Bukit Kapar, here.
While another sighting by residents of Taman Sri Sentosa, off Old Klang Road where a crocodile was spotted resting near the river bank.
The hunt for the reptile turned fruitless however after it escaped before the firemen could arrive at the scene.
One of the major reported sighting was in 2004 when a man claimed to have seen four of the reptiles basking at a stretch of the river next to the Federal Highway.
The video of the sighting can be viewed here :