IF you went down to Klipfontein Dam last week, you may have been in for a big surprise.
Among all that AbaQulusi has been accustomed to finding floating in Klipfontein Dam in recent times, a three to four metre long crocodile is surely not at the top of that list but local fisherman and angling enthusiast, Philip Bantjes, who was out fishing that morning, saw the large semi-aquatic reptile swimming by and immediately reported the sighting to KZN Wildlife, without success.
“We tried calling KZN Wildlife first,” explains Mr Bantjes. “But without success, so we called the SPCA, just so that we could have witnesses to prove that this wasn’t a hoax…”
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Vryheid SPCA Chairman, Stephan Vickers arrived at the scene of the crocodile sighting, accompanied by treasurer for Vryheid SPCA, Antoinette Ries, and trainee inspector, Cody Marchington, and allegedly took photos of the errant reptile however, these were not available at the time of going to print.
“We have some pics,” explains Ries, “but the croc was too far away…”
When asked what purpose Vryheid SPCA would serve in this instance, Ries responds, “We phoned people who may be able to come and help catch it. But seeing that it was already in the water, they said it’s not an easy task. As long as there’s no cruelty to the croc, we are fine. We’ll probably just observe that whoever decides to come and catch it does it in a humane manner and does not hurt the poor croc…”
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“We called in the help of CROW,” she adds.
“Hopefully they will come and assist us…”
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