A paddler wants the authorities to capture a large crocodile he saw on the uMngeni River before it harms children.
|||Durban - A paddler who saw a large crocodile on the side of the uMngeni River wants the authorities to capture the reptile before it harms children who loiter on the banks.
But he doesn’t want to see the reptile killed by hunters, believing authorities could come up with a way to trap the croc, which is believed to be nesting on the banks.
Desmond Cross, of Durban North, saw the crocodile on the banks of the river when he was paddling up towards the Cornett Bridge on Saturday morning and said it was “huge” – at least 2.5m in length, he said.
While continuing with his paddling, he saw four other paddlers on the river, who said they also saw the crocodile.
“I carried on paddling towards the Cornett Bridge, someone who was coming down towards me said there’s a crocodile on the banks. I looked over and I saw it was on the banks and it wouldn’t harm me, so I carried on paddling,” he said.
On his return, Cross, who is a conservationist and former biology teacher with 38 years’ experience, said he decided to paddle closer to the banks, and he recalls fishermen on the banks yelling at him, telling that the crocodile is in the water.
“I turned the corner and I couldn’t see it. I panicked because I didn’t know whether it was behind me or in front of me at this stage,” he said.
“The birds were going ballistic… I think they were sending out warning signals. I must have paddled faster than Hank McGregor to the club house which is about a kilometre away,” he said.
Cross was scared when he realised he was paddling with a crocodile in the river, but said he would return to paddle this weekend.
“That crocodile is big, it looked well fed, and because uMngeni has such clean water, there’s a lot of fish… for it to feed off,” he said.
“I would be more scared if it was a hungry crocodile, they are more dangerous and can go as far as jumping out the water to attack humans,” he said.
“It’s coming closer and closer to where recreational life is, and that’s where families are with their children,” he said.
Daily News