THE HUNTED: Julaihi taking a photo beside the carcass of the crocodile at Kpg Empelam jetty. Also seen from left are Saratok police chief DSP Lee Thay Lein, Chief Inspector Roslan Mat Kib and SAO Kabong sub-district Nazari Bujang.
Hunting team manages to shoot four crocodiles during the first 48 hours of operation
KABONG: The 25-member hunting team, formed specifically to cull crocodiles along Sg Seblak, fired at four of the menacing beasts during the first two nights of operation, and thus far the remains of one of them has been recovered.
Saratok district officer Julaihi Kadir said the carcass, measuring more than nine feet long and more than a foot wide, was found by two local fishermen at about 3pm.
It was later disposed of by the villagers and enforcement personnel after Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) personnel made the necessary documentation.
“We will continue our operation until Friday (July 22). We hope to get those beasts which have been terrorizing riverine inhabitants and mauled two villagers of Kpg Empelam since 2007,” Julaihi told reporters after a briefing at Kpg Empelam, near here yesterday.The two victims have been identified as Kamis Achong, in his 30’s, and Mankay Goheh, 34. The former perished in 2007 and the latter last May.
The operation, which began last Monday, was mounted by personnel from the police, army, Fire and Rescue Services Department, SFC, Rela and members of the JKKK (village security and development committee) here.
According to a Forestry Department spokesman, a 16-year old boy was attacked last month but he managed to survive the ordeal.
More carcasses expected to be found today Chief Inspector Roslan Mat Kib, who led the team, said the dead crocodile was the one they fired on last Monday night.
“We hope the other three crocodiles we shot on Tuesday night will be found tomorrow as such carcasses normally surface after a certain period of time.”
“Our nightly operation along Sg Seblak, which starts at about 8.30pm and ends at 3am, covers a distance of about 60km, from Roban to Kabong.”
Meanwhile, Kampung Empelam Village chief Johan Joh is appealing to the Forestry Department to extend the three-month permit so that Sg Seblak could be free of the giant reptiles which have been terrorising the 500 people of his village — which is made up of 98 wooden houses.
“The crocodiles are so numerous that they even mauled our livestock from time to time. We are living in a constant state of fear,” he said.
http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/07/21/first-kill/
