Some 15,000 crocodiles escape in South Africa
January 24, 2013
Approximately 15,000 crocodiles escaped during a flood from a South African reptile farm, and about half of them have been captured and returned, but the other half is still on the loose, according to Reuters.
"There used to be only a few crocodiles in the Limpopo River. Now there are a lot. We go to catch them as soon as farmers call us to inform us about crocodiles," Zane Langman, whose in-laws own the farm in the northern part of the country, told Beeld newspaper. "I heard there were crocodiles in Musina on the school's rugby field."
Langman went to rescue a few of his friends who were in a flooded house this past Sunday. He traveled by boat and was relieved when he got to his friends.
"You want to get them but you wonder the whole time if you'll make it there," Langman was quoted as saying. "When we reached them, the crocodiles were swimming around them. Praise the Lord, they were all alive."
He explained that the Rakwena Crocodile Farm decided to open the gates because they were nervous that the rushing water would crush the animals. The heavy rains and floods affected thousands of people in the Mozambique and South Africa area, and many of these people had to evacuate their homes, the media outlet reports. The South African Air Force is working to get to those who are trapped by the flood.
According to The Guardian, the floods have killed 10 people in the Limpopo province thus far. There are three more people who are missing and hundreds who are now without a home. All of the houses around the reptile farm have been evacuated or residents were told to stay indoors.
Those who want to talk about the recent crocodile escape can make calls to South Africa using international calling cards.