Police have caught and detained a four foot-long crocodile in Thaa Atoll.
Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the animal was caught on a uninhabited island in Thaa Atoll, after it was discovered by a group of people picnicking on the island.
”It is now in police custody,” said Shiyam. ”Police had to catch it because it was a very dangerous species of animal.”
Shiyam said police had not yet decided what to do with the crocodile, and had informed the Environment Ministry about the crocodile. However State Environment Minister Ahmed Ali Manik said he had no information about the creature.
A nine foot-long crocodile, ‘Kimboo’, is kept in the Kudakudhinge Bageecha (children’s park) in Male’, after it was caught by Maldives National Defence Force cadets in 1998.
In July 2010, students at Billabong High School in Male’ launched a campaign to ‘Save Kimboo’, due to the small size of its enclosure and poor treatment.