The crocodile captured last week in Phuket, after being spotted several times offshore and being dubbed “beach croc” by locals, was captured last week.
Unfortunately, far from the “clever, playful” croc that rescuers claim to have encountered when they carefully took him into custody, they say the three-meter croc, thought to be an escapee from a now-defuct croc show in Phuket, has grown depressed and despondent, reported Thai PBS.
He is being kept at Phuket’s Coastal Aquaculture Research and Development Region, where he rarely eats or even moves.
The croc was visited yesterday by Phuket governor Narapat Plodthong, who agreed that the saltwater male croc did seem depressed after visiting the research center, but said that maybe it just needs time to adapt.
Officials are currently trying to decide if they should keep the animal in state care of give it to a facility that can take care of it.
They are still trying to confirm if their hunch that the croc used to perform in a show is correct. They are speaking to people that have raised crocs in the area to see if they know anything about the animal.
Meanwhile, professors and animal rights activists are asking officials to release the croc back to nature.
Dr. Rungsrit Kanjanavanit, of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation, said that, in theory, “the crocodile can live harmoniously with humans” and that it’s important to preserve this rare saltwater croc in Thailand and let it live freely.
