24 crocodiles ‘escape’ from Lal Suhanra National Park

Staff manages to catch five of the wayward amphibians

BAHAWALPUR:

Twenty-four crocodiles have been found to have gone missing in the Ladam Sar Lake of the Lal Suhanra National Park here.

The management of the park had left them in the Ladam Sar Lake for breeding purposes.

Sources at the park said that the crocodiles “escaped” through the lake in the Shashmahi Canal.

The staff was left with no other option but to wait for the water level in the Shashmahi canal to drop, and when it did they managed to catch five of the 24 crocodiles and dumped them in the lake at the children's park.

The act of dumping the crocodiles into the lake at the children’s park has raised some eyebrows since they could be a threat to children's boats in the lake.

The Shashmahi Canal now poses a danger to the nearby residents due to the presence of the crocodiles who have sneaked into it.

Those who live near the lake and the Shashmahi Canal are absolutely panic-stricken.

Nearby residents are demanding that the remaining crocodiles be traced as soon as possible so that our children and the animals that drink water at the canal can be safe.

Their children and animals that frequent the lake are now extremely vulnerable, and the elders expect of the administration to sort the matter out without wasting a minute.

Wildlife Officer Abrar Hussain said that a few crocodiles were left in the lake, out of which one or two crocodiles went into the canal. Now they have been caught and transferred to the Bahawalpur Zoo.

The Punjab Wildlife Department (PWD) engages in projects to protect animals.

A few months ago, the department took possession of a bear cub from a house near Bagh Sardar after TikTok videos featuring the animal went viral.

PWD Assistant Director (AD) Rizwana Aziz, Inspectors Amjad Abbasi, and Kashif Mehmood had gone to the house of a person and rescued the baby bear and produced it before a court. Civil Judge Ahmed Shehzad Gondal had ordered transferring of the bear cub to the Lahore Zoo.

The Express Tribune had learnt that the wild animal was bought by a wildlife conservationist, Anila Amir, from poachers in the Neelum Valley forest area of Azad Kashmir. The poachers wanted to sell it for a hefty price. She said she did not have enough money to buy the wild animal so she collected the money from her parents, siblings, friends and a servant.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2021.