VietNamNet Bridge – The fence of a crocodile farm in Ca Mau city collapsed on October 12. Around 100 crocodiles weighing 50 - 70kg escaped from the farm. By this morning, October 15, 72 crocodiles have been caught.

The incident happened at the Quoc Viet Crocodile Farm in Dinh Binh commune of Ca Mau city. There is a primary school with a lot of houses around the farm.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dom, a representative of Quoc Viet Crocodile Farm, said heavy rains caused landslides and 35m of fence of the crocodile farm were damaged. The farm detected the incident at 5am of October 12, when around 100 crocodiles had escaped from the farm.

Phan Hoang Dung, from the Ca Mau Forest Management Agency, said Quoc Viet farm has 580 crocodiles, weighing 50 to 70 kg.

"The farm is far from canals so crocodiles will only stay in neighboring ponds and lakes. We are trying to catch all crocodiles to ensure safety for the people," Dung assured.

The farm and the local authorities worked very hard in the last few days to catch the escaped crocodiles. Fences have been built around ponds and lakes in the region. On the night of October 12 and in the morning of October 13, around 20 crocodiles were caught. By the morning of October 15, 72 crocodiles were caught but many others were hiding in muddy areas.

Dung said this morning that around 20 crocodiles were still out there but it is difficult to catch these animals because they are very scared, hiding themselves in muddy areas and dense vegetation.

The Headmaster of the Kim Dong Le Chi Linh Primary School said two days ago, there were a lot of crocodiles seen in the pond behind the school. Hunters caught most of them but two crocodiles were still in the pond. To ensure the safety of students, Ca Mau authorities allowed them to be off school for one day, October 15. Students are expected to resume class on October 16.

Hunting crocodiles:

Le Na
Photo: VNE