KUCHING: An adult crocodile measuring 14 feet in length was culled in the waters of Teluk Paku in Bako National Park, some 40km from here early this morning.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) in a statement said the crocodile was culled in an operation conducted by SFC’s Swift Wildlife Action Team (SWAT) following recent sightings of the said crocodile in the waters at Teluk Paku by the Park Rangers.
“Our SWAT support team at Bako National Park had been alerted to hunt the crocodile. The male crocodile finally took the bait and hook this morning and was immediately culled,” according to the statement.
According to the statement 19 locations including the waters of Bako National Park have been declared as Crocodile Removal Zones (CRZ), whereby the presence of crocodiles in these areas will pose serious human-crocodile conflicts.
The CRZ established are mostly highly-populated areas, recreational areas, such as resorts, riverbanks, waterfronts, schools, clinics and therefore, the presence of crocodiles in these areas will not be tolerated.
“For public safety, crocodiles found in the CRZ will be culled,” the statement added. --Bernama