THE TELEGRAPH (London, UK) 10 November 13 Fishermens' tales: Hampshire angler reports encounter with crocodile (Jasper Copping, and Graham Mole)
Fishermen are known for their tall tales – but one doing the rounds among anglers near the New Forest seems a little taller than most.
The area is awash with reports of a crocodile lurking in its waters, after a fisherman reported encountering one as he fished at a popular spot.
Alan Pragnell, 64, was catching fish from the banks of a lake near to Ringwood, Hants, when he believes he came face to face with the creature, lurking in the water only a matter of inches from him.
The creature, which he said was around 2ft in length, had grabbed hold of a small fish as he reeled it in. When it finally let go, it was sitting in the water, right in front of him.
“I was catching some small roach and something attached itself to the line. As I reeled in the fish, something grabbed it on the way. Normally when this happens it is a pike. There was a little bit of resistance. It let go as it got to the edge and I saw it sat there in the water.”
Mr Pragnell, an NHS support worker, was sitting on a raised fishing chair, in around 1ft of water. The creature was on the surface, around 6in from his feet.
It was around 10am in the morning and he is no doubt what he was looking at.
“It was quite clear enough. It was a matter of inches away, just lying there. It was a crocodile. It was about two foot long. I was looking at it in disbelief. It had four legs and a tail. It was there for about ten seconds and then sunk down into the depths. I know pike. I know what I saw.”
The 10oz roach he had reeled in, meanwhile, was dead, apparently shredded by the mysterious creature, with several deep parallel slashes down either side.
“It looked like someone had taken a Stanley knife to it. A pike doesn’t do that,” Mr Pragnell added.
He carried on fishing but later contacted an official at the Ringwood and District Anglers Association, which runs the lake.
Mr Pragnell admitted it had been hard to convince some people and that his story had led to considerable ridicule - but not everyone was unbelieving.
Some people just laugh when they see me and collapse into a big heap,” he said/
“But I am as sure as sure is. I’m 64 I have been fishing since I was six. What would be the point in lying? I reckon someone had it as a pet and just chucked it over the fence when it got too big.”
The rumour mill may not have helped, he added: “I said it was two foot and I heard someone this morning say it was four foot. Like all fishermen’s tales I suppose it just grows overnight.”
The incident occurred during the summer but Mr Pragnell did not widely circulate the report. Since then, however, it has slowly become a topic of discussion in the local angling fraternity - some of whom are open to persuasion that it could be true.
John Levell, a former secretary of the club, said: “We’ve often found goldfish that have been dumped there by people and we’ve even had red terrapins so my guess would be that it outgrew someone’s aquarium. It could make it much more exciting for the local lads when they are out after carp. ”
Mr Levell suggested it could be a gharial, which occur in parts of the Indian subcontinent and are characterised by a distinctive snout. They can grow to be one of the longest of all crocodiles, reaching lengths of up to 16ft.
Others have suggested it could have been an alligator gar, a fish from the southern United States, which resembles an alligator. Some are kept as pets and one could have been released by an owner who found it had outgrown its tank.
With no further sightings and no more evidence, the club’s committee, which runs 15 lakes, he closed the case.
Peter Hutchinson, the club vice president, said: “Nothing’s been seen since and I’m sure that if was a crocodile it would have died during the winter because it was so cold.”
However, neither the officials nor Mr Pragnell are willing to identify the lake concerned, for fear of attracting large groups in search of the creature.
Crocodiles and alligators require a license from the local council under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act. The most recent figures publicly available, from 2010, showed there were 72 such creatures registered in the country. Officials at New Forest District Council have conducted a check of their records and confirmed that no such creatures are licensed in their area.
David Green, who runs a nearby shop selling exotic pets, said that during the summer such a creature could possibly have survived in the water given the exceptionally warm summer, but added that when the water temperature starts to go below about 20C (68F), “the animal will probably stop feeding.”
But it might be premature for any anxious anglers to breath a sigh of relief. He warned that one species - the American alligator - would still have a “realistic chance” of survival, even through a British winter. The creatures have been known to live in frozen conditions.
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