A freshwater crocodile that had been stranded in a pond in Faridpur Sadar upazila has been caught by local people after 17 days.

Residents of Jalil Mollar Dangi village caught the crocodile at around 3pm on Monday, 9 August, in the 38 Dag area of the upazila's North Channel union, after trying since morning. Several hundred people from the surrounding area crowded in to catch a glimpse of it.

The Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division had earlier mounted two operations to rescue the crocodile, both of which failed.

Md Milon Molla, a trader at Mohon Miyar Puraton Hat in the village who took part in the capture, said: "Because of the rain the crocodile came up out of the pond onto the bank. Once we noticed, all the villagers together caught it with a big fishing net."

Mostakuzzaman, chairman of North Channel Union Parishad (UP), told Jago News: "The capture was reported to Nirmal Kumar Pal, divisional officer of the Khulna region of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division. They have set off for Faridpur to take the crocodile into custody."

Residents first saw a crocodile in the pond on the morning of 24 July. Announcements were then made by loudspeaker warning people not to go into the water, and the chairman later had warning signboards put up on the bank. The pond is known locally as Falur Khal.

The Khulna region of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division carried out two operations to rescue the crocodile, on 28 and 30 July. The first time the net was too small; the second time the crocodile was caught in the net but tore through it and escaped.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.