Durban - A rescue service was requested to assist in the capturing and relocation of large crocodiles that had been washed down the Tongaat River during last month’s flooding.
Rescue spokesperson for Start, Warren Brauns, said on Monday afternoon they received a special request where their partner, the Specialised Ballito Unit, was dispatched to Crocodile Creek.
Brauns said the team was activated to assist the team from Crocodile Creek with river access and manpower to help capture and safely relocate some large crocodiles that had been washed down the Tongaat River during the recent flood and were now living in the river mouth and on the beach.
“These predators occur naturally in all our local river systems; however, these ones now pose a danger to the local fishermen and beachgoers in the immediate area, with one recently finding its way to the beach in front of the Zimbali Coastal Estate,” Brauns said.
He said it was an ongoing operation as the team was still trying to recapture and relocate more crocodiles.
Brauns added that not all the crocodiles were from the crocodile farm because they were tagged and the team had also captured and relocated untagged crocodiles.
On April 14, IOL reported that a float of 14 crocodiles that had washed away from Crocodile Creek Farm in oThongathi (Tongaat) following the heavy rainfalls in KZN, had been recaptured.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo said they were initially informed only 12 crocodiles had gone missing.
“We suspect that they might have walked towards the Tongaat River which is less than a kilometre from the farm.”
However, Mntambo said 14 were recaptured.
When asked if they suspected if any more had washed away, he said:
“We do not really suspect that but it’s possible. The estimate that we initially provided was based on one pond that got destroyed. As the water levels were also high in other ponds, maybe one or two might have jumped out like that, but we doubt it.”
A day before, the eThekwini Municipality had announced that it was informed that 12 crocodiles had escaped into the Tongaat River. Nine had been captured but three were still on the loose. The search for the missing crocodiles was under way and a team from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the municipality’s conservation section was monitoring the situation closely.
Daily News