MARLOTH PARK – A gruesome find, a decapitated Nile crocodile, was discovered stashed away in a garbage bin outside the Marlothi Shopping Centre in Marloth Park on Wednesday.
The lifeless body was tied in a bloody sack and still warm to the touch when it was found.
A photo was uploaded on Facebook and has caused an outcry.
A reward of up to R5 000 has been offered for anyone with information that can lead to the apprehension and successful conviction of the perpetrator.
Lowvelder spoke to Ms Pat Wilmans, chairman of the Marloth Park Property Owners Association (MPPOA), who told the newspaper that they had notified the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) immediately because it was the carcass of a Nile crocodile which is a protected species on the CITES Red List.
The Honorary Rangers Association in Marloth Park is still busy with an investigation and will, together with the MTPA, look at footage taken by a CCTV camera, installed at the shopping centre.
There is currently a lot of speculation in the village about what could have happened. Some indicated that it could be for trophy hunting, while others say the crime relates to poaching.
Wilmans said that the cut was done by a sharp knife or knife-like tool and that no tooth marks could be seen on the body, suggesting that a hippopotamus could not have been responsible. “I don’t think the head was taken for muti purposes either, because the feet and the tail were still intact,” Wilmans added.
MTPA officials would have gone to fetch the carcass yesterday.
