Taiwan croc tamer catches 1.2-meter reptile in Taipei park

Asian Economic News, May 7, 2001

TAIPEI, May 3 Kyodo

The long-rumored existence of a crocodile in a Taipei park was confirmed Wednesday when a 1.2-meter-long specimen was caught in a pond before dawn.

The capture of the 11-kilogram reptile ended a yearlong scare among visitors to the 7,000-square-meter Ta-An Forest Park in downtown Taipei who feared for the safety of their pets and children during outings there.

Armed with only a fishing net, a bamboo stick and a flashlight, crocodile expert Chiu Szu-he waded through waist-deep water in the fenced-in pond shortly after midnight to track down the crocodile.

As his prey proved elusive, Chiu, who raises crocodiles in southern Taiwan and often performs with them for tourists, focused his efforts on a small rocky island in the center of the pond that was believed to be the beast's lair.

Sure enough, as Chiu flashed his searchlight about the spot, two eyes were reflected back to him in the dark.

The crocodile, however, managed to evade its captor for another four hours. Once Chiu cornered it, the crocodile put up a violent defense. But Chiu only suffered a few cuts and scratches from hitting rocks.

Photos of the croc, whose mouth was taped shut, figured prominently in the island's evening papers.

There had been continuous reports of crocodile sightings by park visitors, while injuries found on dead ducks and birds added fuel to suspicions that a crocodile lived in the pond.

But several hunts organized by the city government over the past months turned up empty-handed, apparently since cold-blooded reptiles are not very active during the chillier months.

The crocodile is believed to be one of two baby crocs that were abandoned in the park. One was captured shortly after being left in the park in late 1999.