IT was a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience for Highway snake catcher, Nick Evans early this morning as he was called out to capture a 2.46 metre Nile Crocodile in Tongaat.
The crocodile was reportedly discovered at a water treatment plant.
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“I always get calls about crocodiles, but they have always turned out to be leguaan (Monitor Lizard), so at first I assumed this would be the case. But a policeman, who was at the scene, sent me a photo, and while it wasn’t a clear photo, I immediately knew it was a croc. Although I thought it was going to be much smaller,” said an ecstatic Evans.
“A quick and easy catch I thought.”
“When we arrived at the scene, however, we realised we were facing a much bigger croc. And while 2.46 metres doesn’t sound that big it’s still a big and powerful animal. And to make matters worse he was rather angry and skittish. We also did not have the ideal equipment for such a rescue,” added Evans.
According to the reptile rescuer, most adult crocodiles in the wild are between three and five metres.
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After nearly an hour, Evans and his crew managed to capture the giant creature.
“It took a few attempts, but after about an hour we managed to hook a small rope over this top jaw and was able to pull him out of the water. We then threw a blanket over his head (this helps calm the animal), tied a rope around his jaws, and with the help of the authorities at the scene, loaded him onto the back of my bakkie,” he said.
“Because I didn’t have any duct tape I could not tie down his back legs, so he crawled back and forth on the back of the bakkie,” laughed Evans.
Crazy croc capture in Tongaat !
@ECRBreakfast ! pic.twitter.com/uYgyWZmAKA— TinTin Quarantino???? (@JasonMcCall01) March 5, 2018
“I doubt that I will ever get a call-out like this one again!”
The Nile crocodile is a protected species and as such Evans handed him over to KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife.
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