Cape Town - Officials have said that they can now account for 66 crocodiles after the reptiles escaped from a commercial breeding farm in Bonnievale, Western Cape, at the start of the month.
A spokesperson for CapeNature, Petro van Rhyn, said while some crocodiles had been recaptured, the search continued, with teams conducting patrols every night.
Authorities were alerted on March 3 - which coincidentally happened to be World Wildlife Day - that crocodiles had escaped from one of the holding camps in the facility at around 7am.
It is not known how many young Nile crocodiles escaped in total, but it was discovered that they had managed to break through a wired fence.
By Tuesday morning 25 crocodiles had been euthanised, and CapeNature said that since then more have been euthanised.
Van Rhyn provided an update on Thursday stating: “We can now account for 66 crocodiles. A total of 32 were captured live and 34 euthanised.
“We are continuing with night patrols and there are still trap cages in the river as well.”
People who spot a crocodile are urged not to approach it but to alert Bonnievale SAPS immediately at 023 616 8060.
Cape Argus
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