Crocodile alert!
By Geoffrey Bew
AN environment group has pledged to investigate reports that a crocodile could be swimming around Tubli Bay.
The Environment Friends Society (EFS) will send officials to the scene after a Bahraini women and her Filipina housemaid claimed to have spotted the reptile lurking near the shoreline.
EFS president Khawla Al Muhannadi said she was not surprised by the report and said there had been several sightings across the country in recent years.
She told the GDN many endangered species such as crocodiles, turtles, birds and exotic animals were brought into Bahrain from Asian countries as pets.
However, she said they are often abandoned when they outgrow their surroundings.
The mother-of-two who spotted the crocodile says she saw the creature as she looked out of her bedroom window, which overlooks the bay, with her domestic helper on Saturday morning.
The woman did not want to be named for fear of ridicule, but is adamant that she saw a crocodile and her family believe it could have been an imported pet that grew too big for its owner and was released into the sea.
The bay is full of fish and flamingos and the family believe it may have swum into the area looking for food.
The woman, 45, and her neighbours are so concerned about the sighting that they have stopped letting their grandchildren play in the water outside their homes.
Moving
"I was relaxing, reading a newspaper and watching television, and my maid was with me," said the homeowner.
"The water was very clear and still and it was moving in a straight line towards the shore. I could see a small portion of its head above the water, but not the body. It was not a bird or a fish."
She is a regular birdwatcher and insists she knows every type of creature that uses the bay.
"I have been staying here for three years and I have seen all the birds and the fish and I can appreciate the difference," she said.
"I think it must be a crocodile, I am sure it was because of the way it was cutting through the water, like a v-shape."
Her husband, a shop owner, was unsure whether to believe his wife, but said the matter called for further investigation.
"If there is something like that there it could be dangerous because people go down to the shore," he said.
Ms Al Muhannadi said Tubli Bay was often used as a dumping ground for unwanted water-borne pets and said EFS volunteers would go to the scene to try to photograph the crocodile.
"We will also contact the Fishermen's Union and ask them to investigate," she said.
"We did warn the authorities before that dangerous species should not be allowed into the country.
"Some species have a very important role in the ecosystem in its original environment and once you take it from there it cannot play that role anymore."
It is not the first time that the possibility of crocodiles being in Bahrain has been exposed.
The GDN reported in August 2005 that the authorities were investigating the sale of baby crocodiles that were allegedly being smuggled into the country and sold as pets.
Several posters appeared in local supermarkets offering them for sale for BD40 and, when confronted, the Bahraini seller said he had brought them into the country from Thailand.
Saltwater crocodiles, which can survive in seawater, are known to exist in Thailand and India.
Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife director-general Professor Ismail Al Madani said he would need to see evidence of the latest sighting before he could assess its credibility. He also declined to comment on the possibility of crocodiles existing in Bahrain. Anyone who comes across a crocodile is urged to call EFS hotline number 39433228. geoff@gdn.com.bh
By Geoffrey Bew
AN environment group has pledged to investigate reports that a crocodile could be swimming around Tubli Bay.
The Environment Friends Society (EFS) will send officials to the scene after a Bahraini women and her Filipina housemaid claimed to have spotted the reptile lurking near the shoreline.
EFS president Khawla Al Muhannadi said she was not surprised by the report and said there had been several sightings across the country in recent years.
She told the GDN many endangered species such as crocodiles, turtles, birds and exotic animals were brought into Bahrain from Asian countries as pets.
However, she said they are often abandoned when they outgrow their surroundings.
The mother-of-two who spotted the crocodile says she saw the creature as she looked out of her bedroom window, which overlooks the bay, with her domestic helper on Saturday morning.
The woman did not want to be named for fear of ridicule, but is adamant that she saw a crocodile and her family believe it could have been an imported pet that grew too big for its owner and was released into the sea.
The bay is full of fish and flamingos and the family believe it may have swum into the area looking for food.
The woman, 45, and her neighbours are so concerned about the sighting that they have stopped letting their grandchildren play in the water outside their homes.
Moving
"I was relaxing, reading a newspaper and watching television, and my maid was with me," said the homeowner.
"The water was very clear and still and it was moving in a straight line towards the shore. I could see a small portion of its head above the water, but not the body. It was not a bird or a fish."
She is a regular birdwatcher and insists she knows every type of creature that uses the bay.
"I have been staying here for three years and I have seen all the birds and the fish and I can appreciate the difference," she said.
"I think it must be a crocodile, I am sure it was because of the way it was cutting through the water, like a v-shape."
Her husband, a shop owner, was unsure whether to believe his wife, but said the matter called for further investigation.
"If there is something like that there it could be dangerous because people go down to the shore," he said.
Ms Al Muhannadi said Tubli Bay was often used as a dumping ground for unwanted water-borne pets and said EFS volunteers would go to the scene to try to photograph the crocodile.
"We will also contact the Fishermen's Union and ask them to investigate," she said.
"We did warn the authorities before that dangerous species should not be allowed into the country.
"Some species have a very important role in the ecosystem in its original environment and once you take it from there it cannot play that role anymore."
It is not the first time that the possibility of crocodiles being in Bahrain has been exposed.
The GDN reported in August 2005 that the authorities were investigating the sale of baby crocodiles that were allegedly being smuggled into the country and sold as pets.
Several posters appeared in local supermarkets offering them for sale for BD40 and, when confronted, the Bahraini seller said he had brought them into the country from Thailand.
Saltwater crocodiles, which can survive in seawater, are known to exist in Thailand and India.
Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife director-general Professor Ismail Al Madani said he would need to see evidence of the latest sighting before he could assess its credibility. He also declined to comment on the possibility of crocodiles existing in Bahrain. Anyone who comes across a crocodile is urged to call EFS hotline number 39433228. geoff@gdn.com.bh