Croc attacks man in Roche Caïman
They’re still here: A young saltwater croc snapped yesterday at Roche Caïman
An avid bird-watcher from Au Cap claims to have had a close run-in with a saltwater crocodile in the marshes of Roche Caïman yesterday. His claims are being investigated by visiting German reptilian specialist Dr Wolfgang, who tells TODAY that his theories show “salties”, as he calls them, were not entirely killed off in the 19th century.
In what many are terming a ground-breaking discovery, sources confirmed Monday that a saltwater crocodile, measuring over a metre in length, had been spotted in the marshlands at Roche Caïman. According to Allen Pierre-Payet, 67, he “ran for his life” after being attacked by the scaly predator, which, like many in Seychelles, he was taught had been wiped from the archipelago by 1819
“I was crouching by the side of the marsh, watching as herons perched in the water, when I saw a scaly form glide past me,” he recounted after running wide-eyed and breathless After making a few passes in front of him, Allen says he received the shock of is life when the “log” sprung from the water, and lunged directly at him. “Falling on my back in surprise, I kicked out, and it grabbed hold of my trousers!” he exclaims. After a five minute tug-of-war, Allen finally managed to scupper away, but had to abandon his trousers in the process. He snapped a photo from a safe distance and contacted acquaintances in the Environment Department, who came out with nets but had not managed to corner the beast by the time this paper went to press.
When contacted by TODAY, a visiting expert from the Berlin based Crocodilian Institute, Dr Tobias Wolfgang, says he is not surprised by the incident. “In fact, I am thrilled!” he exclaims. “I always knew in my heart that previous research, indicating they had been killed off, was wrong, and now we are going to prove it,” he says. Having studied the markings left behind from yesterday’s encounter, and Allen’s photo, he says preliminary findings show the creature is definitely related to Crocodylus porosus.
However, it also has other distinctive traits that separate it from its ancestor. “The webbing on the toes of the feet has completely retreated, and it looks like there’s a sixth toe,” he says, adding that this is the first time that such a mutation has been recorded. One theory he says, after speaking to residents, is that the crocodile may have been affected by waste seepage into nearby Le Rocher lagoon, where here may be nesting sites. “I’ve been told residents call it Roche Kaka,” he says.
The earliest recorded sighting of crocodiles in the archipelago dates back to 1609, although a live specimen has not been seen for nearly 200 years. The only marker that they ever existed, up to now, was the name of Roche Caïman itself. “But that will change soon,” says Dr Wolfgang, who is planning to publish his research in the International Journal of Crocs, Alligators and Other Scaly Things.
Source: today.sc 4-1-14