Even Croc Wants to Live in Jakarta

ANTARA FOTO/DHEMAS REVIYANTO

Officers from the National Police’s Baharkam Water Police Directorate patrol waters off Ancol Beach in Jakarta on Sunday (17/6/2018). The patrol was conducted to give people a sense of security following the circulation of footage about the appearance of a crocodile at the Pondok Dayung dock.

Despite its crowdedness, the capital city still has room for a crocodile. Without trying to make a premature conclusion, it is not surprising that the protected wild animal wants to live in Jakarta.

The sighting of a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), estimated to be 2.5 meters long, a few days ago at Pondok Dayung Pier, Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, created uproar, as it was just 5 kilometers from Ancol Beach, a favorite tourist spot.

The public was surprised to learn that the reptile had been sighted at midday in polluted water, hardly its natural habitat.

Some believe the croc was intentionally released by its owner due to the high cost of taking care of the animal. Similar speculation tends to come up every time a wild animal is found at a river or water reservoir in Indonesia.

Others say the reptile may have escaped from a crocodile farm due to flooding or seawater flood. However, the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s biodiversity conservation director, Indra Eksploitasia, on Tuesday (19/6/2018) said no such farm in Jakarta (Tangerang and Serang) had lost a crocodile.

He also noted that this was not the first sighting of a crocodile in Jakarta. Amid flooding in February 2016, a crocodile was seen at Pesanggrahan River in West Jakarta.

“The thing is, it is not an anomaly or other phenomenon. However, we have not found out exactly where the croc is from. Perhaps, it was swept away by floods on Angke River,” he said.

He was referring to the natural park, animal conservation and protected forest in Muara Angke, a mangrove ecosystem in North Jakarta. It lies around 10 km from Priok.

DITPOLAIR BAHARKAM POLRI

Officers from the National Police’s Baharkam Water Police Directorate patrol waters off Ancol Beach in Jakarta on Sunday (17/6/2018). The patrol was conducted to give people a sense of security following the circulation of footage about the appearance of a crocodile at the Pondok Dayung dock.

Hellen Kurniati, a crocodile researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences’ (LIPI) biology research center, said crocs were common in Angke. Local people confirmed this. If the crocodile was from Angke, perhaps it was struggling to find food.

“Crocodiles do not need to travel far if food is available nearby,” she said.

Yet, she did not want to engage in speculation. While the noisy Priok with its heavy ship traffic was not a natural habitat for crocodiles, there had never been any systematic survey on the crocodile population in that area.

“This year, there will be a survey on the croc population [in Angke] by LIPI,” she said.

Therefore, Hellen said, she hoped correct research methods would provide the public with information on crocodiles in the Priok area.

One of the measures would be to catch the animal alive. Not only would it reassure the people, the croc could also be analyzed as to where it had come from – from a croc farm or from the wild.

“We could find out from its tail. If the croc is from the wild, its tail is normally straight, because it is frequently used for swimming. But if the croc is from a farm, its tail is usually curved,” Hellen said.

KOMPAS/ELSA EMIRIA LEBA

A member of the Kepulauan Seribu Police is photographed on a pier Tuesday (19/6/2018) after he questioned residents about the sightings of an estuarine crocodile in the waters of Marunda, North Jakarta. An estuarine crocodile has apparently been spotted in the region’s waters over the last few days.

Another issue, she said, was that the saltwater crocodile is a protected species in Indonesia. Other crocs protected under Government Regulation PP No. 7/1999 on the preservation of plants and animals are the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae), Siam crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) and Senyulong crocodile (Tomistoma schlegelii).

To make the research effort successful, Hellen suggested the field workers change their hunting method. Crocodiles should always be hunted at night using a small-engine boat.

“Please use a bright torch. If you find red eyes, that must be a crocodile,” said Hellen, who has experience in researching crocodiles from places across Indonesia.

The saltwater crocodile is known for its ability to adapt to different environments. Its population is spread across India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Papua New Guinea, Pacific countries and Australia are also part of its habitat.

Thus, it is not surprising that Jakarta not only has the croc bread. Indonesia’s capital also has the chance to be a habitat for the saltwater crocodile.

(ICH)