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Expert confused by crocodile sighting in North Jakarta
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A picture of a crocodile emerging under Pondok Dayung dock in North Jakarta on June 14 went viral on social media. (Via kompas.com/Instagram/jktinfo)
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researcher focused on the study of crocodiles was perplexed by the emergence of a saltwater crocodile in Pondok Dayung, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
The waters of Tanjung Priok are not a natural habitat of crocodiles, according to the crocodile expert from the Indonesian Institute of Science’s (LIPI) biological research center, Hellen Kurniati.
Hellen explained that saltwater crocodiles are able to live in the sea as long palm plants surround the area, since they naturally belong in estuaries or beaches with an abundance of palm plants.
She expressed her confusion as to how the crocodile could appear in Tanjung Priok, knowing that the waters of Jakarta do not provide the habitat required for saltwater crocodiles to survive.
“[The crocodile] was probably just passing through to find something to eat, because the [Tanjung Priok] waters are not its natural habitat,” Hellen said as quoted by tempo.co.
She added that, since saltwater crocodiles generally dislike crowded places, the fact that it showed up in Tanjung Priok, where ships regularly pass, confused her even more.
The 2.5-meter-long crocodile was sighted in the waters near Pondok Dayung dock last Thursday.
Despite having been shot with a long-range firearm by a member of the Navy who was stationed in the dock, the crocodile has not yet been found.
On Monday evening, a second sighting of a crocodile near the East Flood Canal in Cilincing has shocked local residents.
It is unclear if the crocodile was the same one spotted in Tanjung Priok. (rfa)
