Kids find barnacle-encrusted crocodile and spark ‘very rare’ encounter in Philippines
A group of kids spotted a barnacle-encrusted crocodile on an island in the Philippines. The predator likely washed ashore due to a typhoon and sparked a “very rare” encounter.
Children found the saltwater crocodile on a beach of Boracay Island around noon on July 25, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Western Visayas said in a July 26 Facebook post. One of the kids alerted officials who went to investigate.
But officials couldn’t find the animal.
A few hours later, the crocodile was spotted at a different beach. This time officials located the predator in the water and captured it.
A photo shows the group carrying the towel-wrapped reptile ashore on a backboard.
Seen up close, the crocodile had barnacles covering its scales, suggesting “it spent a long period at sea,” officials said. It measured just over 8 feet long and weighed about 110 to 130 pounds.
Officials confirmed the crocodile “didn’t harm anyone.”
The crocodile’s presence was “a very rare occurrence” and the first of its kind for the island, the Malay-Boracay Tourism Office said in a July 29 news release.
The animal likely came from one of the nearby islands with known crocodile populations and washed ashore in Boracay due to the “strong monsoon wind” of a recent typhoon, the office said.
“Now we know what surprises a typhoon can bring,” Raul Lorilla, a regional director with the environment department, said in the release.
Officials moved the crocodile to LMJ Resort, the closest facility “equipped to provide appropriate care.” The resort has a small zoo on site, according to its Facebook.
LMJ Resort posted a video on Facebook on July 28 showing a person trying to feed the crocodile a hunk of raw meat. “Dini’s feeding time,” the caption said.
“We are pretty much excited for Dini and rest assured that it will be given the utmost attention and care like our other Mini Zoo Animals,” a local travel group, Bamboo Travel and Tours, wrote in a July 29 Facebook post.
Tourism officials stressed “that Boracay beaches are out of danger from any wild animal,” saying the island is “safe and better than ever.”
Boracay is a small island in the central Philippines and roughly 200 miles southeast of Manila.
