7-foot-long crocodile was caught at the Sathanandhapuram lake
7-foot-long crocodile was caught at the Sathanandhapuram lake, near Tambaram, on Friday. And it was taken to Vandalur Zoo. (Photo: DC/File)
Chennai:A 7-foot-long crocodile was caught at the Sathanandhapuram lake, near Tambaram, on Friday. Tension prevailed among the locals as the crocodile is the seventh to be caught in the area in the last eight years.
The lake, located some 5 km from south Chennai, turned into a picnic spot as the ‘crocodile news’ spread like wildfire. Foresters said a group of three boys in their early teens were involved in cattle grazing near the Sathanandhapuram lake around 5.30 pm when one of their goat raised an alarm. Sources said the boys thought it was a big snake and threw stones at it.
The boys then alerted the village elders. They ran helter-skelter after the deadly predator made an appearance and was identified as crocodile. Subsequently, police and forest officials were roped in for the rescue operations. A team of eight persons, led by Velachery forest ranger David Raj, struggled for more than an hour to trap the reptile with a huge net.
The locals said these crocodiles enter the area during the rains from nearby Vandalur zoo, when they are tiny. So, they demanded that the crocodile area in the zoo be properly fenced. However, forest ranger David Raj said his team checked the lake four years back when it was dry during summer.
And, no reptile was found then. “The crocodile caught now is a female and about 6.5 feet long,” he added. David Raj urged locals not to try to catch the crocodiles as it could be dangerous.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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