If crocodiles could speak, this one in Indonesia would probably say thank you to the brave heroes who finally freed it from the motorbike tire around its neck after six years of agony, while denouncing the fools who put it there in the first place.
Since 2016, a 4-meter seawater croc has been regularly spotted in a river running through Palu, Central Sulawesi. The croc attracted sympathy worldwide as it had a motorbike tire wrapped around its neck, which was likely deliberately placed by people in a failed attempt to trap it as a pet.
Despite fears that the tire was slowly killing the reptile, numerous rescue efforts (including from overseas) have failed due to the croc’s elusiveness and lack of proper rescue equipment.
That is, until Monday evening, when a local man named Tili (35), devised a trap consisting of ropes and a chicken as bait. Once the croc was immobilized, dozens of other locals, as well as members of the Fire Department and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), carried the croc to land and cut the rubber tire.
Akhirnya zoo buaya yg terlilit ban sejak 2016 berhasil dilepaskan😍❤️ pic.twitter.com/sEGLMAm1u6
— ZOO (@ZOO_FESS) February 8, 2022
The croc was released back into the river, now able to live out the rest of its life in peace and no longer at risk of choking to death at any given moment.
Editor’s note: The headline and the story has been corrected to reflect the correct number of years of the croc sporting the rubber tire around its neck. Math is clearly not our editor’s strong point, and rest assured he won’t be leaving his job for a position at an accounting firm anytime soon.
