Penampang: A crocodile believed to measure two metres long was sighted in a monsoon drain near Taman Fortuna, here, on Sunday. A resident, known only as Lee, spotted the reptile by chance while driving along the route at about 3pm."It was a bright sunny day and when I coincidentally looked out the window saw the crocodile basking itself at the shallow part of the monsoon drain," he said."I am not sure how long the crocodile has been inhabiting the drain but after 40 years of being a resident here, this is the first time I have seen a crocodile in this area," he said.
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Lee said he only managed to alert the Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department about the sighting one and half hours later due to personal errands. "I was told that the team came but the crocodile was no longer there," he said. "I decided to get media assistance to alert the public because although there has been no previous record of crocodile sightings or crocodile attacks in the area, public safety is paramount, particularly since the monsoon drain where the reptile was sighted is located just 10 metres to the nearest shop," he said.
A spokesperson from the department on Monday confirmed that they received a call on the sighting."A total of seven personnel went to the site at about 5.09pm. However there was no sign of the crocodile and the operation was called off at about 5.20pm," he said.
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In March this year, a crocodile believed to measure nearly five feet long was also sighted near a culvert close to the nursery unit of the City Hall Landscape Department in Likas.A team from the Civil Defence Department rushed to the scene after being alerted of the sighting but there has been no sign of the crocodile until now.
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There has been several crocodile sightings in past years, the most recent last September where a male crocodile measuring five feet long was trapped and rescued by the Wildlife Department from a pond at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex jogging track.
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A near seven-foot long female estuarine crocodile was also caught by the Wildlife Department in a culvert near the Kepayan Ridge Flats in January 2013.Another crocodile was also spotted basking at the banks of a monsoon drain near the State Museum the same year.
