PRETORIA NEWS (S Africa) 22 March 08 Crikey! There's a crocodile in my garden (Lesego Masemola)
A city woman and her gardener received a truly unexpected guest this week when a crocodile somehow made it's way onto the premises.
Alpheus Motaung was on his way to throw away some rubbish at around 8am on Thursday when he saw the reptile moving against Enid Trollip's wall.
"I got such a fright. It was moving and then it stopped when I stopped. At first I did not know what it was then I called Trollip to take a look," he said.
Animal lover Trollip admitted she was "surprised".
"I did not expect to see a crocodile in a residential area. I knew we had to capture it somehow and keep it safe. I believe someone was trying to keep it as a pet otherwise it would be in its natural habitat," she said.
Trollip and Motaung used the top of a bird cage to trap the crocodile.
Conservationist, Hencke Marais from the Tshwane Nature Conservation came to the rescue.
Marais said the creature was an African Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) which is usually found in Limpopo.
He said it was highly unlikely that one would find a crocodile in Pretoria unless someone was illegally trying to keep it as a pet.
"I believe this one was stolen from another province and bought here. The person probably got scared when it grew so quickly and let it go or the crocodile escaped," he said.
Marais said the crocodile was over a year old and measured about 55cm.
"People are not supposed to keep crocodiles. Anyone found with one can get arrested and land up in court and eventually get imprisoned or pay a hefty fine," he said.
Marias said Tshwane and North West Nature Conservation will see to it that the crocodile is returned to its natural habitat.
Crikey! There's a crocodile in my garden