Police And Team Jointly Comb Crocodile Shelter Locations In Jebol

Employees of crocodile breeding in Gunung Calung Village, Cianjur Village, Cianjur Regency, West Java, caught two crocodiles that fled, Thursday (3/10/2024). (ANTARA/Ahmad Fikri)

JAKARTA - The Cianjur West Java Police and a joint team are again combing around the crocodile breeding location in Gunung Calung Village, Sayang Village, to make more sure no crocodiles escape.

The Head of Ops for the Cianjur Police, Kompol Iwan Setiawan in Cianjur Sunday, said dozens of TNI-Polri personnel, the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA), BPBD, and the Cianjur Damkar were again combing a number of places to ensure that no more crocodiles had fled.

"We put a police line so that people and all personnel are vigilant because this is a wild animal. Not just anyone is allowed to pass even though there is no criminal element but rather a safety element," he said, quoted by Antara.

He explained, to ensure that no more crocodiles have roamed outside captivity since the last two days the joint team conducted sweeps up to a radius of more than one kilometer from captivity.

In fact, his party asked residents to report immediately when they saw the crocodile's presence in the neighborhood where they lived, so that they would be immediately recaptured by officers who already have expertise such as animal rescue or an animal rescue of the Cianjur Damkar.

"In the data on the total number of crocodiles in captivity, about 80 have been caught, five have escaped after the captivity wall broke, so we cannot confirm how many have fled," he said.

So, his party will continue to ensure that no crocodiles are left behind or fled to the Margaluyu River and a number of other rivers as well as rice fields and residents' villages in Cianjur.

So far, he added, the land used as crocodile breeding has an area of approximately 500 square meters belonging to entrepreneurs in Cianjur, but since 2018 the operation has been carried out by the West Java BKSDA starting from its handling, maintenance, and security.

"Everything has become the responsibility of the BKSDA, the land owner has only lent to captivity crocodiles since 2018," he said.