14-Foot Crocodile Captured Alone by Indonesian Man Using Only a Rope

A giant crocodile was caught alone by an Indonesian man named "Usman" who used only a rope as his instrument, according to a report on Tuesday, June 28.

The 14-foot (4.3 meters) crocodile was captured in the island of Sulawesi, where the large reptile had terrified its residents, as claimed by the crocodile's captor.

Community members from the Ambau Indah village praised the efforts of Usman, whom they have considered to have done a heroic act.

The 53-year-old man reportedly said he had to take the opportunity while the massive crocodile has not cause any major disaster against the villagers.

Usman believed mentioned that the crocodile had been roaming in the area for at least two days, claiming it could have been more dangerous if it entered through the drainage channels, as well as further inland or the rice fields.

In the past, the area had recorded multiple crocodile attacks, which is a rare phenomenon yet an evident one as part of the growing human-wildlife conflict worldwide.

The issue stemmed from the expanding human settlements into natural habitats once home to these wild animals.

Giant Crocodile Capture

An official from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency stated that the gigantic crocodile will be released into the wild after Usman caught and reported it to the local authorities, as reported by CNN and Reuters.

Local accounts indicated that the rare animal was also a victim of habitat loss due to flooding and it needs to be protected rather than get killed.

Indonesia Crocodile Attacks

In the past several years, crocodile attacks have been reported across Indonesia, wherein some of the incidents are indicated below, according to The Jakarta Post.

In 2020, authorities recovered the body of a fisherman from a crocodile's jaw in North Sumatra.

The victim was bathing in a river when the reptile attacked him.

In the same year, a crocodile killed a fisherman whose boat capsized in a river in South Sumatra.

In 2019, two fatal crocodile attacks led to the death of a woman and a missing person in Southeast Sulawesi.

Both incidents transpired in the rivers of North Konawe regency.

Saltwater Crocodiles

Crocodiles are one of the largest reptiles on Earth, both prehistoric and historically.

The recent incident in Sulawesi fueled a stark reminder that there are still crocodiles living in the wild larger than imagined, but has not been discovered yet.

The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is considered to be the biggest crocodile species.

In modern history, the world's largest crocodile ever recorded was named "Lolong" from the Philippines, which measured 40 feet long and weighed over 17,000 pounds.

Lolong, a saltwater crocodile, died in February 2013.

According to Oceana, a non-profit organization, saltwater crocodiles normally live in "brackish" or "low salinity" water near coastal areas.

They can also reach over 23 feet and weigh over 2,200 pounds.

In terms of size, the saltwater crocodile is followed by the Nile crocodile, which are native in the freshwater habitats of Africa.

While crocodile or alligator attacks have been considered rare by experts, an aggressive behavior from the reptiles are mostly unprovoked; this is caused by other factors like food and territory.