Crocodiles Freed by Floodwaters Hunted in Vietnam
Officials release a crocodile back into its farm in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam on Sunday Nov. 11, 2007. The crocodile was recaptured after being set loose by floodwaters.
It was unclear how many of the 5,000 state-owned crocodiles were swept free by the floods.
Photograph from Vietnam News Agency/AP
Hanoi, Vietnam
Associated Press
November 13, 2007
Soldiers, militiamen, and forest rangers hunted for crocodiles Monday after several of the animals were washed free from a farm by the latest round of lethal flooding in central Vietnam, an official said.
Authorities still do not know how many of the 5,000 crocodiles at the state-owned farm escaped when floodwaters knocked down part of the fence enclosing the tourist attraction Saturday, said Vo Lam Phi, governor of Khanh Hoa province.
Soldiers have shot and killed three of the animals and recaptured five others so far, while villagers have caught three more, Phi said.
Crocodiles are farmed in Vietnam and other Asian countries for their skin and meat.
The crocodiles had escaped into a stream that passes the farm and then joins a river flowing through several villages.
"We have warned the villagers to be careful and asked them to call the authorities if they spot any crocodiles," Phi said.
Heavy rains triggered the weekend flooding that killed nine people in central Vietnam, disaster officials said.
Five rounds of flooding have hit the country's central region in the past month. Floods and typhoons have killed 202 people across central and northern Vietnam since early October.
Water levels in area rivers remain extremely high, and more rains were expected Monday, the national weather forecast center said.
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