REUTERS UK (London) 11 July 06 Pet crocodile attacks boy
Manila (Reuters): A 12-year-old boy survived an attack by a crocodile that was being kept as a pet near an elementary school on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, officials said on Tuesday.
The seven-foot (2.1-metre) reptile bit Ramon Palmares on the arm after he poked it and threw pebbles, said Basilio Rosal, a local official in Cotabato City.
"We weren't aware that a crocodile exists in that house," Rosal told reporters. "It poses real danger to many curious schoolchildren."
Romeo Manzan, a wildlife officer, said it was illegal to keep wildlife as pets, citing a Philippine law and an international convention on endangered species. Manzan said he had seized the crocodile along with a python also found at the house.
Rosal said a man would be charged with violating the wildlife law and endangering children, adding that he might also be sued by the injured boy's parents.
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