Cape Town - Officials have urged the public to be on the lookout after a large number of young crocodiles escaped from a commercial breeding farm in Bonnievale.
Twenty of the young Nile crocodiles were recaptured following operations by CapeNature, the landowners in the area, the owner of the crocodile breeding farm and the South African Police Service.
However an unknown number remained at large and had in all likelihood found their way to the Breede River, which runs in the vicinity.
The community of Bonnievale and surrounding areas have been urged to avoid the Breede River for a few days and to keep an eye out for the escaped reptiles.
Video: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency/ANA
The crocodiles vary in size from 1.2m to 1.5m and present medium danger to people because they are farmed animals, used to regular feeding and therefore did not hunt for their food, said James-Brent Styan, a spokesperson for Western Cape Environmental MEC Anton Bredell.
“An area about 5km upstream towards Robertson and 5km downstream towards Swellendam is the key area. CapeNature and their partners will continue to search for the animals and have set a number of humane traps with bait to recapture the animals. Patrols on the river will be undertaken every night to catch these animals,” he said.
Video: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency/ANA
Cape Times