At 9:30pm yesterday (Aug 31), a team of crocodile catchers attempted to force the crocodile to land using fishing nets.
However, during the initial capture attempt, the crocodile, struggling to free itself from the net, collided with a boat being used in the mission and managed to escape as it had made a hole in the net.
Then, at 3:30am this morning, the crocodile was finally caught after it was forced to land at the west of the lagoon where it was seen on Wednesday (Aug 30). (See story here.)
Mr Nikom Suksawat from the Surat Thani Fisheries Dept said, “In the end we had to use five fishing nets to catch the crocodile without hurting it.
“The crocodile is about three metres long, but we are not yet sure if it is a freshwater or seawater crocodile.
“We did find two marks on the back of it’s head that lead us to believe it’s a freshwater crocodile, but we need to get confirmation from an expert,” Mr Nikom said.
An official from the Phuket Fisheries Dept added, “The crocodile was not very fierce, in fact it was rather playful and clever. It did not want to go near the land as it knew it was going to be caught. We had to be very careful with it,” he said.
“It took us almost all night to catch it,” he added.
“The crocodile will be taken to the Phuket Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre in Pa Khlok where it will be inspected by Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong ,” the official concluded.