Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Nov 16 (IANS) A crocodile, which had been playing hide and seek since it was found in a trench near here eight days ago, was finally caught Tuesday morning and shifted to Nehru Zoological Park.

The reptile, which had kept police and forest officials on tenterhooks since Nov 8 and sent panic among the people, came out of the trench in Nanakramguda in Narsinghi on the city outskirts as the authorities had pumped out almost all the water.

Nehru Zoological Park curator M.A. Waheed said the policemen deployed there noticed early Tuesday that the crocodile came out of the trench. As the two possible escape routes were closed down, the reptile went into the nearby bushes.

The policemen alerted the forest officials, who reached there. The reptile was tranquilised and shifted to a vehicle of the zoo.

According to the forest officials, the six-ft-long crocodile may be around eight to nine years of age. After first aid at the zoo, the officials plan to leave it in its natural habitat.

On Nov 8, some workers at a construction site saw the crocodile in the trench for constructing the building. It is believed to have come from a nearby lake.

For people in the surrounding localities, the area had become a sort of picnic spot with hundreds of people gathering around the trench every day to catch a glimpse of the reptile and rescue operations.

The officials had installed eight motors to pump out 15 feet water but the reptile remained elusive.

They said the crocodile had become sluggish as due to disturbances around the trench it was not having sunbath, which is a must to maintain the body temperature.