Residents Join Forces with Police to Capture Crocodile That Attacked and Devoured a Local Fisherman Over Three Days
Residents of Nunukan District in North Kalimantan, Indonesia, spent three days collaborating with local police to capture a nearly 8-meter-long crocodile suspected of attacking and eating a fisherman in the area.
The victim was Samsul Bahri, a 45-year-old father of three. Mr. Bahri was attacked by the massive crocodile while he was shrimp fishing on the Semaja River on July 19.
Police and villagers join forces to catch the man-eating crocodile.
Following the incident, local residents were extremely distressed and coordinated with the police to search for and capture the ferocious animal. After three days of searching, they managed to capture the crocodile that had eaten Mr. Bahri. Among the remains the animal regurgitated, the community found pieces of the unfortunate man’s body. This confirmed to his wife and children that he had died from the crocodile attack.
Fisherman Nelwan Krisna, a friend of Mr. Bahri who also participated in the crocodile capture efforts, stated, “The Semaja River is home to many crocodiles. We felt sympathy for our neighbor and his family, so we assisted in searching for the victim’s body. We knew the police officers would have difficulty finding the crocodile on their own.”
During the first two days of searching, the group discovered a crocodile nearly 4 meters long and another measuring 4.8 meters. Both animals were forced to regurgitate their stomach contents for the villagers to check if they were the culprits that consumed the fisherman. However, no body parts were found in the stomach contents of these two crocodiles.
On the third day, July 22, the search team found the 8-meter-long crocodile and shot it with tranquilizers to incapacitate it before tying it up. Like the previous two animals, this massive crocodile was also forced to regurgitate its stomach contents. Shockingly, the group discovered human limbs and bones.
Neighbor Krisna remarked: “The victim’s body was found inside the crocodile. Only a few body parts were regurgitated by the animal, but it was enough to prove that this was the victim everyone was searching for. His body was not intact.”
The head of the Tarakan rescue team, Dede Hariana, commented that crocodile attacks are likely to continue to increase in this area, especially in villages located near rivers.
Even just one day after Mr. Bahri’s body was found, another local fisherman, 29-year-old Baharudin, was also attacked by a crocodile in the same area. Baharudin unfortunately slipped at a temporary bridge and fell into the Tabur River, where he was bitten by a crocodile.
Baharudin’s body was also found inside a crocodile on July 25.
Indonesia is home to 14 species of crocodiles, most of which are large and extremely aggressive.
According to conservation experts, the degradation of habitats due to overfishing and the conversion of coastal areas into farmland has forced crocodiles out of their natural habitats and into human settlements.
Notably, the people of Indonesia still have the habit of bathing and fishing in rivers, which easily leads to crocodile attacks on humans.
