Jaws drop in Huay Yai Village as 2-metre crocodile sunbathes by fishing pond

A 2-metre long crocodile weighing 30 kilogrammes sent villagers in Huay Yai Village, East Pattaya into panic as it casually sunbathed by Taklom Fishing Pond on Sunday, February 4.

Locals and news crews flocked to capture the unexpected visitor on video, showcasing the reptile’s playful antics and its remarkable evasive skills during capture attempts.

The owner of Taklom Fishing Pond, 56 year old Kan Jantaravichian revealed that this wasn’t the first crocodile sighting in the area, with a similar incident causing concern just a year ago. The elusive reptile, suspected to have escaped from a nearby farm, remained unclaimed.

Fearing potential risks to the fishing community, a team of over 20 personnel from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office and the Sub-district Municipality of Huay Yai, along with a local rescue team, took swift action. Despite hours of effort, the crafty crocodile skillfully avoided capture.

In a desperate move, authorities decided to use a car battery to generate an electric current in the water, successfully incapacitating the crocodile and enabling its safe capture. The captured reptile, seemingly unfazed, was later transferred to the Bang Lamung Wildlife Breeding Station at Khao Chee On for ongoing care, reported Pattaya Mail.

Investigations are now underway to uncover the origins of the crocodile and determine whether it escaped from a local farm, mirroring the previous incident that left the village on edge.

In related news, a social media storm has erupted over a Chinese food blogger, who boasts more than 3.5 million followers on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok). A short video was posted in December last year showing food blogger, Xiehe, preparing a crocodile as part of a home-cooked meal.

Although the clip achieved its aim of attracting viewers, it sparked massive backlash. A significant number of netizens expressed disappointment, arguing that publicly killing a crocodile is cruel animal treatment, merely to create eye-catching content and boost follower count.