Kota Kinabalu: A nearly two-metre long crocodile that crawled out of its hideout to seek prey on the streets of Karamunsing at 2am was stopped in its tracks by a team from the Malaysia Civil Defence Force, Saturday.The reptile was spotted in the middle of Jalan Karamunsing opposite the old RTM building by a resident, Annie, who was returning home after a late supper with friends. "I was with friends from Sarawak and we were heading towards the city centre from Luyang when we saw what looked like a black object on the road a few metres ahead of us. We initially thought it was a plastic bag until it started to move," she said.
ADVERTISEMENT
As they got nearer, the object seemed to be 'crawling' fast towards them causing her friend who was driving to swerve the car to the right to avoid hitting it. "At first we thought it was a monitor lizard, but as we passed it, we noticed that it had a long head, prompting us to make a U-turn to get a closer look," she said.
"By then, the crocodile was lying still in the middle of the road, and we thought it might have been hit by car. But it suddenly snapped its jaws at another vehicle plying the route.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This is the first time I have seen a crocodile in the middle of the road, it was scary. I called 999 for fear of it may cause harm to those in the area," she said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Within minutes, four personnel from the Malaysia Civil Defence Force led by Erwan Samsuri arrived to capture the reptile. Malaysia Civil Defence Force Sabah Director Col Mulliadi Al-Hamdi Ladin said it was very rare for a crocodile to be found on the road or in places which is not its natural habitat. "The 55kg reptile, which was believed to have come from a nearby monsoon drain, was quite aggressive," he said. The reptile was brought back to the JPAM office before it was surrendered to wildlife officials. No one was injured in the incident.There have been several crocodile sightings in past years, in September 2014 a male crocodile measuring five feet was trapped and rescued by the Wildlife Department from a pond at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex jogging track.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.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Another crocodile was also spotted busking at the banks of a monsoon drain near the State Museum the same year. The Karamunsing area was a swamp at the turn of the century where crocodiles were common until it was developed.
