VietNamNet Bridge – At 2 am, when nuns were sleeping, a crocodile weighing more than 70 kg crawled through a cup truss, and moved closely to the place where four children (adopted by the temple) were sleeping.

Ca Mau: Crocodile on Highway 1A

At 2am of October 17, a crocodile that escaped from the Quoc Viet crocodile farm in Ca Mau City on October 12, crawled into the Buu Huong Pagoda in Cay Tram A Village, Ca Mau City. Hearing the shouting of nuns, local people and workers of Quoc Viet crocodile farms flocked to the temple to catch the animal and took it back to the farm.

Nun Dieu Thuy said nuns woke up because of the sound of dishes breaking. When the lights came on, nuns saw the temple’s back door opening; a crocodile was crossing a cup truss to move close to the place where four children were sleeping.

"At that time we quickly took the kids out of the room and called others to help. A moment later, Quoc Viet farm’s workers came to catch the crocodile," the nun said.

According to local people, there are many ponds full of water hyacinth behind the temple, which are suitable for the escaped crocodiles to hide. The ponds are not fenced so the crocodile went to the shore to find a way to a nearby river.

Mr. Phan Van Dang, Director of Quoc Viet farm said on the afternoon of October 17, that the farm had suspended hunting crocodiles because some families prevented hunters from getting into their gardens.



According to Dang, hunters thought that a few crocodiles were hiding in the garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Trang in Cay Tram A Village, but Trang did not allow hunters to get into his garden, being afraid that his fruit trees and fish pond would be harmed.

According to Chairman of Dinh Binh commune, Mr. Duong Minh Em, to facilitate crocodile hunting, the local authorities acted as an intermediate between Quoc Viet farm and Mr. Trang. Trang claimed VND10 million ($500) while Quoc Viet offered VND5 million. Therefore, the local government suggested VND7.5 million, but the two sides have not agreed.

Dang said 91 crocodiles were caught by local people and hunters. One crocodile crawled to the road and was beaten to death and taken away by some truck drivers on October 16. At present, there are still some crocodiles in the fish pond behind a primary school.




Mai Lan