Cotabato execs to set free ‘hostaged’ croc

COTABATO, Philippines – A 2.9-meter crocodile accidentally caught two weeks ago will be set free at the Liguasan Marsh tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters, Mlang town Mayor Joselito Piñol said it took them two weeks to rejuvenate and prepare the crocodile named Malang for his return to the wild.

“Veterinarians had to treat the creature first for severe dehydration caused by his captivity in Barangay Dungguan without food and water for several days,” he said.

Initial reports said the fishermen were demanding “ransom” for the crocodile, which was tied to a tree while its captors awaited payment.

Environment officials advised the Mlang government not to pay any amount.

Malang will be released at the exact place where it was caught, Piñol said.

Fishermen in Barangay Dungguan southwest of Mlang caught Malang with a net at one of the gateways to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta.

Experts from the Palawan Wildlife Rescue Center will help facilitate Malang’s release, according to Piñol.

Veronica Guzman, PWRC manager, said Malang, a freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis), is now healthy enough to be returned to the wild.

Malang is not the first crocodile caught in the vast Liguasan delta at the tri-boundary of Maguindanao, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

The marsh, the world’s largest in terms of surface area, is also said to have deposits of natural gas. Fishermen in Maguindanao’s Pagalungan town, also located along the Liguasan Marsh, caught in 1994 a 16-foot crocodile in the northern side of the delta. The crocodile died in a small zoo in a hinterland Cotabato town several weeks later.  

Environmentalists from across Central Mindanao are expected to escort Malang back to the swampy area in Barangay Dungguan.