Asia-Pacific News

Cambodian villagers on crocodile alert

Apr 25, 2007, 9:43 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodian villagers along the Mekong river were on crocodile alert after reports of sightings of a number of large reptiles near a populated area, an official said Wednesday. Deputy chief of the fisheries department in Kampong Cham province, some 125 kilometers from the capital, Phoung Dyna, said villagers had reported seeing three crocodiles over 1-metre long and up to half a dozen smaller specimens in the river in recent days. 'The crocodiles have not harmed any people there so far,' he said. 'But it is not normal for them to be seen in the river.' Wildlife officials familiar with the north-eastern province said the animals had probably escaped from one of the many crocodile farms situated in the area. Local panic was fuelled by a New Year prediction by the Royal Palace astrologer broadcast in local media of a rash of crocodile attacks in the new Year of Pig - a forecast initially shrugged off by most Cambodians. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Cambodian villagers on crocodile alert

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