TAWAU: An 11-foot-eight-inch saltwater crocodile was shot dead in Kampung Jagung, Merotai Besar, on Thursday — the fifth crocodile killed by Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) officers in the Merotai area in less than two weeks.
According to the department, the male crocodile weighed about 140kg.
An examination of its stomach revealed goat skin and other food remnants.
The department, in a statement, said its team had set a baited crocodile hook on Tuesday after villagers reported seeing the reptile lurking upriver near their goat pens.
“The SWD team was informed by villagers around 9.30am on Thursday that the baited hook had been taken by the crocodile, which then moved downstream towards the river mouth,” it said.
Officers, assisted by villagers, went to the site, retrieved the floating barrel attached to the line, pulled the crocodile to shore and shot it dead.
The carcass was later brought back to the Tawau SWD quarters for disposal.
During the disposal process, goat skin and pieces of plastic were found in the crocodile’s stomach.
Earlier, on Oct 21 and 23, Tawau SWD officers shot and killed four other crocodiles in the Merotai area during its Crocodile Control Operation along Sungai Udin, Kalabakan.
Those crocodiles measured 17 feet 9 inches (390kg), 7 feet 5 inches (60kg), 12 feet 7 inches (250kg) and 11 feet 2 inches (190kg).
All four were caught within 48 hours after taking the department’s baited hooks and subsequently shot dead.
The use of the baited-hook method is said to be safer compared to shooting free-swimming crocodiles directly.
