An Australian TV star threw herself into the race to help capture a giant crocodile in Indonesia who has had a stuck motorcycle tire for several years around the neck.
Matt Wright, specialist in dangerous animals and presenter of the program “Monster Croc Wrangler” on the National Geographic chain, uses with his team traps with duck for bait, as well as a drone and even a harpoon to try to catch the reptile.
“The (harpoon) will not hurt the crocodile,” he told reporters in the city of Palu on Thursday. “It fits a bit” in his skin, “it’s like piercing the ears”.
“We will end up catching it”
Matt Wright’s team caught a smaller crocodile on Wednesday to “practice,” he said on Instagram. But catching the giant crocodile surrounded by a tire will be more difficult because the environment does not lend itself to it and it is difficult to bait it since it has a lot of food in the river. “We may not catch it in two days (…) but we will end up catching it,” he said.
Matt Wright was joined by another Australian crocodile expert, Chris Wilson, to collaborate with the local conservation agency, which has been trying to get the beast out for several years.
Last month, local authorities launched a competition with a reward for anyone who could help the four-meter-long sea crocodile.
“He’s very clever and cunning”
Attempts to catch the animal in front of a crowd of curious people were unsuccessful. The competition was then stopped.
The influx of spectators may have hampered rescue efforts, said Chris Wilson. “He is very clever and cunning,” he added, “he knows people and he is afraid of them. When you try to get close to him, he dives underwater.”
Vedel Jemali, a resident of the region, said he hoped “that this Australian team will get there because we see that this crocodile is suffering”.
