Manila: Fishermen turned over to authorities an 11-foot (3.3-metre) crocodile that they captured off a large marsh that straddles three provinces in southern Philippines, an environment officer said.
The fishermen named the female crocodile Kanluran, Environment officer Gerardo Laoagdan said in a report, adding she was captured near the Liguasan Marsh, off Cuyapon village, Kabacan, North Cotabato. The report from the south reached his main office in suburban Quezon City on Friday,
Kanluran was turned over to the wildlife centre of the Philippine Army’s 602nd Brigade in Carmen, said Laoagdan, adding, “North Cotabato has two wildlife centres: at the provincial capital and at the Army’s command.”
“Experts will examine the crocodile and will determine when she will be brought back to the Liguasan Marsh,” Laoagdan explained.
Residents near the Liguasan Marsh are aware of a law that prohibits the capturing, killing, or selling of crocodiles, said Laoagdan, adding a convicted crocodile killer faces a fine of P100,000 (Dh7,354) and imprisonment of up to six years.
In his report, Laoagdan quoted fisherman Mamangkas Mangatong, 70, as saying, “I captured the crocodile because it prevented us from fishing at the Liguasan Marsh.”
“We have never captured crocodiles in places where we don’t fish,” the fisherman said, adding he has captured a total of 50 crocodiles who were blamed for destroying fish cages and fishnets erected in Liguasan Marsh.
Residents captured an eight-foot (2.4-metre) crocodile named “Silangan” in Cuyapon village, Kabacan, in April 2016. The crocodile was turned over to the military’s 602nd Brigade.
The environment department has no figure on the population of crocodiles in the 288,000 hectare Liguasan Marsh. Straddling the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat, the marsh also hosts migratory birds and endangered tarsiers.
On September 3, 2011, residents and crocodile hunters from Palawan southwestern Philippines captured a 6.17-metre crocodile named Lolong in Bunawan creek, Agusan del Sur province, also in the south. The Indo-Pacific saltwater crocodile was dubbed as the largest crocodile ever caught and placed in captivity. It died at the badly-maintained Bunawan Ecopark and Wildlife Reservation Centre in Consuelo village on February 10, 2013.
