Sri Lankan wildlife officers believe they have captured the man-eating crocodile believed to be responsible for several deaths on villagers near the banks of the Nilwala River in Matara district of Southern Province.
Agrarian Services and Wildlife Minister S.M. Chandrasena has said that the 12-foot long crocodile was caught last night in a trap set up by the wildlife officers.
However a veterinarian of the Wildlife Department has said that it is yet to be ascertained whether it is the same croc responsible for three deaths in the area this year.
The Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S. M. Chandrasena has said the captured animal will be sent to a conservation center.
The authorities took quick measures to nab the croc after the death of a 18-year-old school girl Nuwanthika Sathsaran who was dragged away by the animal when she was washing her face at the bank of the river.
Within a week earlier the same crocodile has taken away a mother of three who was washing clothes at the river.
Crocodiles are an endangered species in Sri Lanka and protected by the wildlife conservation laws.
The people living near marshes and river banks amid risks of crocodile attacks complain that they cannot harm the crocodiles even for the sake of their lives due to stringent wildlife laws of the country.
CP
